


A nice vacation

by Fluffauthor



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: After way too much time between updates and too much laziness of course, Also I may be stretching the line a little on what's considered porn, F/M, Fluff, Galra Keith (Voltron), I just appreciate cuddles more than sex sorry, Implied sex later on probably because again no porn, Keith is still part alien don't worry, Keith's crush may be revealed later on, M/M, No Porn, Shiro works in a clothes store, Some kissing eventually, This garbage is finally ready to be bunched with that tag, jfc I'm sorry this story is so messy, ooc personalities probably, peaceful earth alliance with the universe au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-01
Updated: 2017-08-30
Packaged: 2018-10-12 20:51:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 59,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10499232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fluffauthor/pseuds/Fluffauthor
Summary: Sendak and Keith are two best friends from the Galra home planet who decide to take a trip at Keith's home planet. Earth is their go to vacation spot, and Sendak can't wait to pick up some of the guys or girls. Keith is more eager to see his original home and pays no attention to any flirts. However Sendak meets someone that he doesn't expect to meet, someone whose arm has been replaced as well. He only grows closer to this stranger as his vacation progresses.





	1. A chance date

**Author's Note:**

> Hey this is my first story, hope you enjoy the reading. I just really like this ship.

Sendak got out of the earth taxi, his ears hitting the door shaped opening, noting that these cars were smaller than Keith had described. He rubbed them after the slight pain from exiting the taxi caused them. He got out and went to pay the fare according to what the driver said, using earth dollars from converted GAC.  
  
"Remind me to make a glowing review of your home planets taxi's, Keith", he said, counting the bills in his hand before he handed the correct amount to the man.

"Quit your whining and help me get our luggage out of here", Keith replied.  
  
Sendak was a very large figure by Earth standards, so of course he complained about leg room in the taxi the entire way to their hotel. Keith had no problem getting out of the taxi, considering he inherited the smaller human size from his father, yet he still was as furry as any other galra. He was holding a sizeable bag, but it paled in comparison to what Sendak hauled around. Sendak got his trunk filling bag out from the taxi and heaped it over his shoulder. As he started to walk, he heard the giggle of earth girls, who were looking at his right side. Sendak turned more and his red eye spied on the giggling girls, and his robotic arm scratched his face. These came as a surprise to the earth girls, and Sendak chuckled at their curiosity. They only murmured at the sight of his mechanical parts, and giggled even more, though it was nothing malicious. Suddenly one of them beckoned Sendak over.   
  
"Hey big guy, you think we could get a photo?", said the brunette of the group.   
  
Sendak smiled his friendliest (and he hoped cutest) smile, and walked over, eager to know who they are. They asked to get in closer, to which Sendak agreed, and he quickly found himself being felt up by the group. It wasn't an obvious rubbing or anything, their hands just happened to go on his arms, chest, stomach, anywhere that looked good for the camera.  
  
"Say cheese", said the girl who was taking the group photo.   
  
"Cheeeeese", said the rest of the group, minus Sendak, as he wasn't certain why he would say that for a photo. The blonde girl in the group tapped him on the arm afterwards, and gave him her phone number.   
  
"Why don't you join us later for some fun at the bar?", she said, winking to him.   
  
"I could see myself doing that, thanks ma'am", he said, and he waved them off as he walked back to Keith.  
  
Keith had a mixture of amusement and disappointment on his face. "You just never try and catch a break, do you? I remember when we visited Altea, you made 4 different locals mad because you wanted to be 'Mr. playa', if I recall correctly."   
  
Sendak smirked and shrugged it off, "Hey, you know me, I always try and get a few out of the local flavor to really know it well."   
  
Keith chuckled at that.  _'_ _Only you would think like that',_ he thought to himself. But Keith had a different attitude towards Sendak's sex drive this time around.   
  
"Hey, Sendak, wait a sec."   
  
Sendak stopped to listen, "Yeah buddy?".   
  
Keith struggled to say it at first, he didn't know if Sendak would get annoyed at him or not, but it was now or never. "I need you to promise me, don't go crazy with the guys and girls here. I know I was joking around about the Altean thing a few seconds ago, but I don't feel like getting you out of trouble this time. We haven't had a real vacation in 5 years, and most others don't get to go on vacation within a 5 year gap. I also haven't seen earth for a while so I'd rather you not mess this up for me man."   
  
Sendak was slow to respond, but he grinned slightly, "Sure buddy, I won't make you have to drag my ass out of an angry mob of scorned one-night stands again."   
  
Keith sighed at this, "Good to know, I'm not mad with you just to be clear." Sendak raised his robotic arm to fistbump keith's shoulder slightly, but not angrily, just to let him know that he understood.  
     
Soon they arrived at the hotel, and took the elevator up to their floor. When they swiped the key to enter the room, Sendak noted that, like the taxi, the room was quite small for him, perfect for his friend Keith however. He spotted one of the king sized beds, judging it in his mind.  _Some king this bed is for, they're only 6'1,_  he thought to himself. Sendak was baffled that they didn't give a 9'5 tall alien a proper bed.Then Sendak remembered that the tallest human he saw was in the lobby, and even then he was at least 3 and a half feet shorter than Sendak was.   
  
"Well I think we should get a refund, they didn't accommodate for galra size."   
  
Keith snorted at his friends remark, "You mean _your_  size. And another thing, do galra hotels accommodate their beds for every alien race that visits them? No? Then stop complaining."   
  
Sendak paid no mind to his remark, too busy judging the room to pay attention. The windows: small. The lampstand: Small. The bathroom: Small. He looked at his bed again: it was still small. He tried to lay across his bed while Keith observed in increasingly louder giggles. He first tried to lay in it normally, but his legs hung off the ends of it. Next he tried to see if he could bend his legs to fit on the bed, but they would always go off to the side somehow. To make his situation even worse was the small covering they gave him for sleeping at night. He held it up to get a closer look and grew offended at the size of it.  
  
Keith cut into his confusion, "On earth we call that a blanket, but please continue to be astonished by our human cloths", and he burst out laughing.   
  
Sendak frowned, "Smart-ass, everything here is too small. We should've gone to an alien hotel, it's like you said earlier, they would accommodate us."    
   
Keith rolled his eyes, then told off his friend. "Technically this IS an alien hotel to you, considering this is the first you've been to earth. But what I said earlier, if you had listened instead of inspecting all the nooks and crannys, was that every hotel doesn't make things like every alien wants because they're not obliged to. We would probably be in a similar situation for a, say, Unilu run hotel."   
  
Sendak frowned and let out a long, defeated sigh. He thought about the local people, the local food, the local clothes; _'wait a minute, clothes!'_  he thought. Sendak had agreed not to make love to every human he saw to Keith, but he still wanted to look good for the one-night stand he would pick up.   
  
"Please man, for the love of the galra gods, please take me to get some earth clothes that look nice on me".   
  
Keith's eyebrows raised in a suspicious stare at his friend. "You're not gonna pick up anybody, are you?"   
  
Sendak took a few seconds to respond, but he did it with honesty. "No, well, yes, but not in the way you think. I need a good shirt to impress the human that I pick up here."   
  
Keith looked slightly annoyed, he had just asked him not to focus on sex. He crossed his arms and made a death stare at Sendak.   
  
"I thought we agreed that you wouldn't cause a lover's scandal again." "No we did, we did, but I'm only gonna use the shirt for one person on earth", he said to his worried companion.   
  
Keith took a minute to consider his options, then came to a decision. "Fine, I'll take you to buy something from a shop, the 'I'm a thirsty galra looking for exotic taste' type of establishment."   
  
Sendak perked his ears up and hugged his friend tightly, prompting pleas of help for release from his friend towards anyone who could hear. Soon enough, he was released and the two went to a nearby clothes store.  
  
  
  
As they entered the shop, Sendak noted the good quality of the shirts that were up for sale. Keith left to look for any shirts that he might like and left Sendak to his own devices. As he tried them on, he noticed a human man in a ponytail eyeing him up. Sendak pretended not to notice and then flexed slightly in the mirror, causing the human to gulp slightly.  _'Works every time',_ he thought to himself. Sendak began to make his way towards the human through the aisles, but suddenly tripped over another human crossing without paying attention. Sendak fell with a considerably loud thud, his ear being crushed slightly as he hit the ground.   
  
"Urrrgghh", he uttered, letting the one who tripped him know he was unhappy.   
  
He turned to look up at the human with a scowl, and was instantly struck with wonder. The human looked Japanese, which he remembered from his human diversity pamphlet that he read before he arrived on Earth. His hair had a white colored front, which blended nicely with the black colored remainder of his head. He was very fit for a human male, even more than the human with the ponytail he had paid attention to a moment ago. Most interesting to Sendak was the human's robotic arm, which was like his own except on a smaller scale. He next looked at his face, and noticed that he looked incredibly frightened. The human then began to try and make amends.   
  
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to do that, I just have this really bad habit of reading while walking. Do you need help getting up?", the human said as he bent down.   
  
Sendak stuttered for a moment, "It's...it's fine. I can help myself up". He began to lift himself off the ground and noticed the human's shirt, which had the logo of the store on it, along with a nametag: Shiro.  
  
"Hey, do you work here?"   
  
The human now known as Shiro looked calmer, but still slightly embarrassed from tripping Sendak. He regained some composure and slightly smiled at the question.   
  
"Oh, yes, I do. Again, I'm sorry about this. Do you need help finding anything?".   
  
Sendak found a bit of himself to respond to the cute employee.   
  
"Sure, I need to find the right shirt for, well, personal reasons related to people in bars. And the one who knocked down a giant is Shiro, nice to meet you", Sendak said as he held out his hand to Shiro, indicating a hand shake. Shiro took his hand, gladly shaking it, now looking completely calm.   
  
"Yes, it is, you must have seen my name tag on the shirt. What's your name?", he asked.   
  
"I'm Sendak, it's...it's nice to meet you Shiro", said Sendak, who was stuttering like he did from his first time talking to a crush.   
  
"Same to you. We don't get many galra in here, but we have some shirts around that are juuust large enough for someone like you. Why don't you follow me back here", he said, as he thought about the figure of Sendak.  
  
Shiro led him to the section of the store with extra large shirts, and pointed towards the 4XL size shirts. Sendak thanked Shiro and went to change. Shiro immediately went to his mind to think about the extremely hot galra that he was catering to. He contemplated the way his chest seemed to lunge out at him from the sheer muscle of it, and his comparably massive arm. He also noted that he had a robotic arm like him, though it was much larger than his own. He also loved his fluffy, purple colored fur that seemed to be everywhere on his body. His last thought of him for the moment was about that large red eye replacing his right one.   
  
 _'Alright, calm down, so what if he's a little bit like you, there's no way that he can be more appealing',_ he thought to himself. The next moment proved him very, very wrong.   
  
"Hey, so does this look alright to you?", Sendak asked him.   
  
Shiro was lost for a moment in the fact that the shirt was tighter on Sendak than his last one. He quickly stopped having a 'drool' look on his face, and gave his thoughts on it without being too flirtatious.   
  
"Well, it certainly brings out your more, uh, 'physical' features. You shouldn't have a problem with attracting every girl for miles."   
  
Sendak raised his eyebrows slightly, losing a bit of composure in his face at the compliment.   
  
"Oh, well, t..thanks. I like to keep my figure up so that way I can get any girl or guy I see. Hope you don't mind me sounding like I have a huge ego, heh".   
  
Shiro tilted his head back in surprise, he hadn't expected the galran to be interested in men. The next few moments, he hoped, would be indicative that Sendak liked the human in front of him.   
  
"Wow, I thought you would just want to get the girls, most people that come in here don't swing the same way I do." His face had a nervous smile, he couldn't help it from talking like this with Sendak.  
  
Sendak couldn't show it because of his fur, but he blushed slightly at Shiro revealing that he was gay.   
  
"Yeah, I've had a lot of the two in life. You can appreciate both worlds in the best ways", he said with a friendly smile.   
  
The human chuckled, and responded quickly, "Yeah, well, I could never really see the appeal in boobs, more of a muscle chest guy myself."   
  
Sendak smiled slightly, and told him, "Well you have some good taste in men."   
  
 _'Alright Sendak, reel him in',_ he thought to himself.   
  
Sendak looked behind Shiro, then back to the human. "I think I can see someone with a large chest in here that you might appreciate."   
  
Shiro was puzzled and looked around, seeing no bodybuilder behind him. "Who is it, I can't see them around, are they behind me?", he asked.   
  
"He's standing in front of you", said the smug galra.  
  
Shiro blushed at him flirting so nonchalantly, turning around to hide it as his face lit up, before looking back at him and struggling to find the right words.   
  
"Well, I am very uh, I'm flattered that you're interested in me. I've never really, y'know, talked like this with an alien before."   
  
Sendak stepped closer to put his muscular body in closer proximity to the human. It did the desired effect, he could see Shiro gulp a bit from having Sendak so close to him.   
  
"We could talk more later, if you want to get us to know each other better. Do you know any good places to walk around in this town?", he said to the tomato-faced human.   
  
 _'I've got him now, but I don't wanna just fuck him..',_ he thought as he observed Shiro's happy trembling.   
  
Shiro gave an enthusiastic answer, "YES. I..I mean, sure we could just hang out somewhere in the park if you wanted to know more about the town".   
  
Sendak smiled and squinted slightly with his left eye, taking a step back from Shiro.   
  
"Great. So should I meet you here later outside, and we can just go from there?", he asked the human slightly quivering with delight.   
  
Shiro stopped quivering, noticing the galra chuckling at it, and regained himself. "Sure, meet you at 5:00?"   
  
"It's a deal, I'll see you then. I'm gonna go find my friend, he's probably wondering what's taking me so long. Oh, and thanks for the shirt recommendation. I'll make sure to wear it, since you look so cute when you look at me wearing it", he said to an increasingly red-faced shiro.   
  
"Sure, see you then big guy", he said. Shiro then started to catch up on work, he had been occupied with Sendak for a few minutes.   
  
Sendak made a fist and brought in into his stomach as he turned. "Yessssss", he said quietly on his way back to finding Keith, who was waiting near the front. He passed near the ponytailed human he originally had his eyes set on and mouthed 'sorry' to him. The human responded with a single finger held up. Sendak didn't know what it meant, but judging by the look on their face, it didn't mean well.  
  
  
  
Sendak was very pleased with himself when he got back to Keith.   
  
"Hey, did you find the clothes you needed? I couldn't really find any-wait. Did you seriously already get a date?", he asked Sendak.   
  
"I-it's a little complicated with this one for me, but yes I do believe I have secured something to do later", said Sendak almost hesitantly, as he wasn't sure how Keith would react.   
  
Keith raised his eyebrows, that speech could only mean one thing. "Hang on, did you just stutter? You haven't done that since your first girlfriend. Do you really like this one as well?"   
  
Sendak looked to the side and smiled, "Yeah he's-".   
  
"Wait", Keith interrupted, "You really like a guy this time? I know you can go both ways, but I thought you would've gone for boobs almost immediately."   
  
Sendak put his hand over Keith's mouth, he was getting rather loud for the entire store.   
  
"Shut up, and yes, it's a guy this time. He's cute and his arm is like mine, it's robotic", Sendak told him as he took his hand off his mouth.   
  
Keith laughed, "You two have so much in common already!".   
  
"We'll continue this outside", Sendak said to drop the conversation for now.  
  
Sendak paid for his shirt and left with Keith. As they made their way back to the hotel room, Keith asked him a question.   
  
"So, 'Mr. Playa', do you plan on making this a serious relationship?"   
  
Sendak replied with an annoyed tone, "Don't call me that anymore, that guy back there isn't a one-night stand. He's, well, it feels as if it's something more, like you said. I think I may have to spend a lot of time with him."   
  
"Sorry, old nicknames die hard. But aren't you worried about having to go back eventually?"   
  
Sendak frowned and considered that for a moment. He hadn't known Shiro for more than a few moments, yet he felt a burning need to meet him again. If he had to go back to his planet, then he had no way of staying in a relationship. Long distance relationships like that never worked the way that couples intend.   
  
"It's...been a thought, yes. I'm not sure that I could maintain it, considering I have a steady job back home and I would like to keep it."   
  
"What, you mean your modeling? I bet you would find quite a few magazines here on Earth that feature alien models. You could be a great model for them!", Keith said cheerily.   
  
Sendak was surprised, "You mean to say that Earth has magazines that feature aliens in a shirtless underwear pose?"   
  
"Yes sir."   
  
"And it's not pornographic whatsoever?"   
  
"Well, it could be if thats what you wanted it to be. HEY, KIDDING." Sendak had taken Keith into a noogie hold for that quip, but released him after a few seconds.   
  
"I would have to think about this after the date, to see how it goes. If we really connect, then I might have to get that job", he said.   
  
"Remind me to tell your fangirls back home that you may potentially be lost from their fan magazines, so they can change their subscription", he joked to his larger comrade.  
  
As they got in the hotel room, Sendak grabbed his bag and locked himself in the bathroom. He started to undress and remembered it would be best to let Keith know the bathroom would be occupied for a bit of time.   
  
"Don't mind me, just gonna take a shower. And also probably style my fur for an hour or so", he said through the door.   
  
"Wh- Well THANKS. I really enjoy walking down the hall for 2 minutes every time I wanna take a piss. Asshole.."   
  
"You know you can't stop loving my company", he told the disgruntled galra outside the bathroom door.   
  
Keith sat down on the bed and thought about those words,  _' "you can't stop loving my company", well, if only I could work up to telling you rather than letting this whole friendship go on like this'.  
  
_ Keith's ears drooped slightly at that thought, so in order to distract himself, he turned on a tv that looked familiar to one he had in his childhood on Earth, before he left for the Galra home planet all those years ago. He was 15 when his parents decided to move to the Galra home world. It had long been allied with other planets for 10,000 and only made more allies as it explored space more. He had a bit of trouble fitting in at the school there, even with his digital translator enabled to let others know what he was saying. Sendak was a larger teen, 2 years older than Keith, who played Galran sports, but he was intrigued by the half human, half-galran kid. He noticed that many disliked his human heritage, and defended Keith one day against some racist galra boys.  From that moment they became fast friends. They had done many things together along with some of Sendak and/or Keith's friends. Yet all through those years, he couldn't help but being attracted to the friendly galra. It didn't help his case that he was a very muscular teen as well. And now, 10 years later, Keith was still the same smaller friend hopelessly crushing on his larger friend, who developed well from high school.  
  
A while later, Sendak finished up in the bathroom. Keith sat up on the bed and looked in his direction. Sendak perked his ears up, showing off their extra fluffiness from the styling.   
  
"Look out world, I'm coming through, hopefully looking my best for the date".   
  
Keith scoffed at that, "If you're really worried about how your fur looks to him, then he may not be 'the one'. It'll be fine man, just go meet him and have fun."   
  
"Yeah, you're right on that. He won't mind if any of it looks styled in a dumb way, hopefully."   
  
"Oh my god just go to him and find out, stop complaining", he said, ushering him out of the hotel room.   
  
"Hey, wait a minute I don't even have my-", Sendak was interrupted by his face being hit with a wallet.   
  
"How uncharacteristically rude of you to not throw it at my good eye", he told him. Keith smirked then shut the door. Sendak had a lot on his mind, and in the hotel room, so did his friend.  
  
  
  
Sendak arrived at the shop a little earlier than the meeting time, and observed the scenery. He could snap the trees on the sidewalks as easy as twigs, given how small they were.  _'It seems to be a running pattern of small things lately",_ he thought to himself. He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, dozing slightly in the warm sunlight that was still present before dark.   
  
"Hey! you showed up", said Shiro, interrupting Sendak's day napping.   
  
Sendak opened his eyes and looked at Shiro, who was giving a warm smile, which Sendak returned.   
  
"I didn't know you would be here right now, I got off early myself", Shiro said.   
  
"Well, it seems I miscalculated slightly on the time. Was never much with numbers in school."   
  
Shiro made a slight grin, "Oh please, anyone can read a clock. You must have been pretty excited about this to arrive so early."   
  
"Well that too, but I really don't know the numbers very well, translators work for verbal communication, and you can scan physically written things, but not everything translates completely well."   
  
Shiro looked at the hands on his watch; it read 4:15.   
  
"It's about 45 minutes before we were supposed to meet. Sooooo I guess we'll just stand around pretending we don't see each other until 5:00?"   
  
"Yeah, that sounds like fun to me", Sendak told the human. They both were silent for a moment, then laughed with each other and began to walk towards the park.  
\-----------------------------------------  
"You didn't, that's so sneaky!", said the human as they neared the park entrance.   
  
"No, it happened. I couldn't stand him treating my best friend the way he did. To this day he still has no idea how an angry cat got into his locker. Remind me to tell the school system anything I know about this awful hate crime", he told the human, who giggled more.   
  
Shiro went quiet when he glanced at the entrance, he didn't notice that they had arrived so quickly.   
  
"We're here! This is my favorite place to go to. We need to hurry and get to my sitting spot before sundown", he said, going ahead of his companion.  
  
While they went along, Shiro looked at Sendaks robotic arm. He noticed, making Shiro quickly look forward in shame. He was waiting for him to say something, but Shiro continued being silent about it.   
  
"It's fine you know, there was a group of girls earlier talking about it too", he told him.   
  
Shiro sighed, and wanted to apologize to his date.   
  
"Sorry, I just don't see many people whose arm needed to be replaced like mine, y'know?".   
  
Sendak wasn't expecting him to want to talk about their arms on a first date.   
  
"Yeah well, it's a small universe. I never thought it would get replaced, but that's what happens to arms when they get in a wreck", he said, instantly shocking his date.   
  
Shiro looked extremely shaken by this remark, "Jesus, I didn't mean to bring back memories of how it happened. I only wanted to get my arm replaced for cosmetic reasons, I'm so-", he suddenly had a hand placed on him.   
  
He looked up to Sendak's face and found a large smile looking down at him.   
  
"You have no need to be apologetic. It happened a long time ago, and I'm not traumatized over it."   
  
Sendak took hold of Shiro's robotic arm with his own mechanical one.   
  
"These are not limitations on us, these make us unique, they make you unique.", he told Shiro.   
  
The young human blushed like earlier, "I wish you would stop making me do this, my face is gonna stay like this if you keep doing that".  
  
As they continued their walk, Sendak looked around at the trees around the path. He noted that, while larger than the tree he had seen earlier, they were still smaller than the trees back home.   
  
"Yeah, it's a wonder to look at isn't it. The way that the sun is going through these trees looks beautiful", Shiro said after noticing him looking around.   
  
"Oh, well, yes. It is a nice view, the uh, trees and everything", he told Shiro. The hastily made agreement wasn't a great move, Shiro stared to the side in disappointment.   
  
"Is something wrong?", he asked Shiro.   
  
"It's nothing, I just thought you would appreciate the way that the sun moves through the trees more, and now you probably think this is a boring date."   
  
Sendak lowered his ears a little, sad at the thought of making his date annoyed. "It's not that, I just compare everything on Earth to my home planet. Your trees are much smaller than the one's I have climbed."   
  
Shiro raised his eyebrows in curiosity, "You're serious? Well I need to see galran trees then if they're so much larger."   
  
Sendak nodded, content at assuring the human he was having a good time.  
  
    
  
Shiro stopped them suddenly, then took Sendak a bit off the trail.   
  
"It's this way to the spot. You won't believe this view."   
  
Sendak didn't show it, but he was delighted in holding the human's hand. The skin didn't have any fur, but it felt soft to the touch, appealing to Sendak's senses.   
  
 _'I hope this never ends',_ he thought to himself.   
  
Shiro was equally excited to hold his date's hand, which he found to be a soft grip with him. The palm of his hand had small hairs covering it, not as thick as the other parts of Sendak's body, but warm nonetheless   _  
  
'Is he being gentle with me?',_ Shiro pondered. He discarded that thought when he saw they were about to arrive at the spot.   
  
"All right close your eyes", he told Sendak.   
  
Sendak obeyed his request and closed his eye, disabling the other eye for a moment, wondering what surprise could wait for when he opened them.   
  
"All right, now, open!", Shiro said, fervor on his tongue.   
  
Sendak opened his eye and turned on the other one to a gorgeous view of a valley, with a forest that had the sun nestled into the center. Shiro sat down and patted the ground next to him, signalling Sendak to do the same. Sendak was in awe of the sunset that shone over everything, he now knew why it was a special place. Of course, he could think of many similar sunset spots back home, but he didn't say it out loud, for fear of ruining the moment Shiro had introduced. Shiro looked at Sendak, whose pure look of wonder at the sunset never changed. His purple fur moved around in the wind, flicking here and there. He enjoyed it's movement, and greatly wished to feel it, though he hadn't found the courage to ask about it directly. He had a trick up his sleeve nonetheless.  
  
Shiro nudged Sendak, who quickly turned his head to know why he had been touched   
  
"Hey, it's feeling a little cold right now, do you have anything to help warm me up?"  _'God, that came off so badly',_ he thought to himself.   
  
Sendak looked at him and smirked, "You mean my fur of course. You should know this happens almost every time someone gets alone with me."   
  
Shiro was finding it hard to not smile even more than he already was. Sendak brought up his shirt to let Shiro feel his furry abdomen.   
  
"Go ahead, give it a shuffle", he told the almost impatient, overly eager human.   
  
Shiro shuddered a little at how silky the feeling of it was against the touch of his hand. It didn't hurt that pressing a little further got access to toned muscles.   
  
"This is very, um, warm thank you", he said to the relaxed galra.   
  
_'It's so much better to actually feel it',_ Shiro thought to himself. He brought his face closer to his elegant fur, but was stopped suddenly by a hand on his forehead.   
  
"Ah ah ah, you are cute and all, but that's reserved for different stages", Sendak told the human who gave a pout but quickly apologized.  
  
"Sorry, I got a little too eager with that I suppose", he told Sendak as he was putting his shirt over that, oh, so, perfect coat of purple.   
  
"Nah, it's fine. I do like my fur being, well, 'pet' is what I think it's called", Sendak said.   
  
Shiro smiled, "Well, maybe we could head back to my apartment later, I could show you how well I 'pet' others."   
  
Sendak gulped himself this time, that proposition proved to be his weak point. He tried to keep his cool, but ended up stuttering his response.   
  
"I..I would love that. B...but, well, first we need to build up to that. We could watch an Earth movie, o...or I can tell you about my home planet."   
  
Shiro got up from the ground and looked down at Sendak, whom he had turned the tables on. He grabbed a hold of his hand and helped pull him up, knowing that Sendak was capable on his own without any help.   
  
"I think it's agreed then. I'll take you back to my place, show you around, give you some pizza."   
  
Sendak looked puzzled, he had never heard of this word before.   
  
"What is that you said? Peet...za? Doesn't sound familiar to me."   
  
Shiro was surprised for a second, "You've never had-Ok, that's it. We're going to eat pizza at my house whether you like it or not."  
  
Sendak smiled at this new development, he couldn't wait to see how this turned out later. Shiro was barely able to hide his own excitement for this as well, sporting a smile from ear to ear that conveyed just how much he wanted this to happen. They both made their way to the last stop of the night, neither of them knowing just how well it would turn out.


	2. A dinner and a couch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sendak is taken to Shiro's apartment and shown human things, and they bond even more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bleh, it takes me forever to write, procrastination suuucks. I added some tags that I forgot, sorry. Leave criticisms or suggestions in the comments, thanks,

  Shiro unlocked his apartment door and led Sendak inside. Sendak looked around and saw a somewhat cramped space for him, so he had to be careful. The kitchen was to the left of the door, with a table nearby set with chairs. In the backroom opposite of the door, there was an armchair that was probably too small for Sendak to sit in. Next to it, he saw a couch fit for 2 humans, or in his case, one large galra and smaller human. He predicted they would end up there later in his mind.   
  
 _'_ _Definitely slow cuddle spot, put his head under your arm when we get there'.  
  
_ Across from the couch was a holo-tv that was currently turned off. The couch had a small table in front, with some space for leg room, but otherwise for easy access to things set on it. There was a bathroom to the right, in between the couch room and the kitchen. He walked around more, and found a hall connecting to the door hallway that led to someplace else. Someone could see it if they had sat on the rightmost part of Shiro's couch.   
  
"Is your bedroom back there?", he asked Shiro.   
  
Shiro smirked, "Maybe you'll find out later. For now lets order that pizza."   
  
There was that word again, the one that struck Sendak oddly. It was a food he had never heard of, and it had a very strange name.   
  
"So this 'pizza', that's what you called it. What is it like? I didn't do much research on Earth foods before I came here", he said.   
  
Shiro smiled, "It's fine, and the taste is, well, you just have to try it yourself to be the judge. I'm guessing you're gonna be a pepperoni guy?"   
  
Sendak became confused again, "I'm not really, uh, sure on what pepperoni is. If you think we'll both like it, then you can ask for that."  
  
Shiro picked up his house phone and dialed the pizza parlor, ordering a large pepperoni. His order was placed so he hung up the phone, inviting Sendak to the couch.   
  
"Follow me to sit on my unofficial, well, not exactly throne; You get the idea", he told Sendak, who was lightly laughing with a palm on his face.   
  
"Shut up or I'll eat all of it when it arrives", he told the hulking galra.   
  
When Sendak took a seat on the couch, he took up most of it, that being a cushion and half of the other one, but it did leave a big enough gap for Shiro to sit in. Shiro sat in comfortably next to him,  _'ohmygodthisissoclose',_ he thought to himself. Sendak could tell the human was happy in that position, so he made a smug grin. Shiro flipped on the holo-tv, which was currently playing an earth show.   
  
"So, what do you like to watch that we could find on here?", he asked Sendak.   
  
Sendak had a thinking face for a moment, then sarcastically spoke.   
  
"Well you know, they always play so many human shows on my channels back home, it's hard to know which one is the best. I like the one with the black haired guy, and the one with the blonde-". He had a finger placed on his mouth by the amused human.   
  
"I didn't mean it like that you clown, I meant what genre is best to you. Do you like action, drama, romance, what entertains you?"   
  
"I just like good stories, it doesn't matter what it happens to be. No personal preference for the way it's told, just in if it keeps me interested."   
  
Shiro thought of something to put on, then a light bulb lit up in his brain.   
  
"I know something we could watch! It's an anime movie, which is sorta like a cartoon", he told the ever-confused galra.   
  
Sendak was unaware of what he was saying, and spoke his thoughts.   
  
"I don't know what an 'annie may' is, but cartoon sounds familiar.  I probably have a similar thing in Galran that means the same through the translator. I never was one to watch much holo-tv though, too many shows to keep up with at once. But movies, good ones especially, don't make you watch for a long time. They set out a story and tell it, and leave it at that."   
  
Shiro sighed, "I'll....just put it on so you can be the judge. It's called 'spirited away', and it's an older animation, from about 150 years ago. It holds up incredibly well though, it's so mesmerizing the way that it looks and feels."  
  
  
  
'"Chihiro, what a pretty name. It belongs to me now"', the tv continued on. Shiro and Sendak had settled in nicely to the couch.   
  
"So why does she need her name?", he asked the human. Shiro was smiling but was very annoyed at Sendak. He had been asking questions like this since the movie started.   
  
"Well maybe if you watched it, then you would find out. Otherwise, just be quiet and enjoy it", he said with a hint of anger.   
  
Sendak got the feeling that he'd offended Shiro. "Hey, I didn't mean to make you mad, I won't ask any more questions. Tell you what, pause the movie for a second."   
  
Shiro put up his robotic arm, which was acting as the remote, to pause it. Sendak was glad that he was willing to do that.   
  
"All right, now close your eyes and put your head forward, away from the couch."   
  
Shiro did what he asked and wasn't sure what Sendak was doing.   
  
"Ok now lean your head back to the couch."   
  
Shiro did so and felt a warm surprise waiting for him. Sendak had put his regular arm down for Shiro on the couch, making Shiro extremely happy. His furry arm was a nice neck comforter, and he didn't want to leave it anytime soon.   
  
Sendak smiled at his date's newfound joy. "Does this feel better to you?", he asked Shiro, looking into his eyes.   
  
"This feels much better, and warmer, so....thanks", he told the comfy galra, who was leaning in little by little the entire time.   
  
"Hey, what are you doing-", he felt Sendak's hand softly grab the side of his face. Sendak had a pure look of love on him as he neared Shiro's lips, and Shiro closed his eyes in anticipation.   
  
DINGDONGDINGDONGDINGDONG  
  
The door interrupted their otherwise perfect moment.   
  
Shiro looked extremely angry with himself, "Shit, I forgot about the pizza, I'm sorry about that."   
  
Sendak wore a slightly disappointed smile. "It's fine, I forgot about it too. But at least I can try Earth's food for myself now, heh."   
  
The annoyed Shiro put on a happy face and went to get the door, just as another DINGDONG rang through the apartment. He opened the door and paid for the pizza, bringing it back to the coffee table in front of the couch.   
  
"At least this way, we can finish the movie while we eat. First things first, take a slice."   
  
He opened the box for Sendak, who found himself assaulted by a delicious smell. He grabbed a slice, it looked like a yellow thing covered with red circles, also slightly melting from other slices, but he got it on it's own. There was a brown outer layer that acted as a holding mechanism for hands, something called crust according to Shiro. It was brought closer to his fluffy face for inspection via nose and he confirmed, again, it smelled delicious.   
  
 _'Ok, here goes nothing',_ he thought as he took a bite. It was one of the best things he had decided to do while he was on Earth. A satisfied smile took over his mouth as he chewed the slice, the meat on it bringing a bit of spice, and the cheese making it chewy. The sauce tasted good as well, and the dough was soft to bite into. It made for an appetizing meal, and he scarfed it down before declaring his opinion.   
  
"This is so, so, GOOD!", he told the laughing Shiro, who was doing that because Sendak was now quickly grabbing another slice and getting pizza sauce on his fur.   
  
Shiro took this opportunity to grab a napkin, "Here, you got something on your face."   
  
Sendak looked at him and finished the slice with a gulp.   
  
"What is it, does it look wrong?", he asked Shiro.   
  
"No, you look as handsome as ever, just a bit of pizza sauce on your face", he told the happy galra, who was smiling the way someone does when they're complimented by their crush. He leaned in close to wipe it off, almost feeling the fur on that fluffy face, and looked into Sendak's eyes. Sendak thought he knew what he was doing, but Shiro quickly put up his arm to play the movie. He leaned back and gave a smug look to the pout faced galra.   
  
"Better not miss the movie, it gets better from this point."   
  
Sendak sighed and took yet another slice of the pizza. _'_ _It seems he can mess with others in a fun way, I like it',_ he thought to himself.  
  
   
  
  
A little later on, they had finished the pizza. They got to a scene where the dragon boy, Haku, was assaulted by what looked like paper people.   
  
 _'Well that's fairly bloody for a childrens fantasy movie',_ Sendak thought to himself. He looked at Shiro, who was lost in the animation, and decided to do something daring.   
  
"Hey can you pause it again?", he asked Shiro, who did so.   
  
Shiro granted his request, and looked at Sendak with a dirty lover's stare.   
  
"So what, you ready to kiss- HEY", he was being shoved off the couch. Shiro got up from the floor with an angry look on his face.   
  
"What was that foooo........", he said as he looked less angry and more drool faced.   
  
Sendak had taken off his shirt and then spread his figure across the entire couch. The fur covered muscles almost shined from the lamplight. Speaking of the fur, hot damn was he very thick with it, especially his chest. It was a massive bush of it there, he wondered how he kept it tucked under clothes. Other than that, it was very, very hot.   
  
"Y...you dick, now I can't sit next to you when you're like that", he told the smiling galra.   
  
"But you do have a seat, right here", Sendak said as he pointed at his furry body, which suddenly looked like a nice pillow to the awe-struck human.   
  
Shiro slightly gulped, then slowly made his way towards the galra. He was almost hesitant, a bit afraid he would trip and hit his date. As he neared his stomach, Sendak gave a welcome pat to indicate where Shiro would lay. Taking hold of one side of Sendak, he made his way over his stomach, and stopped suddenly when Sendak began to purr.   
  
"You can do that?", he asked the galra, who gave a warm smile.   
  
"I can do a lot of things, but I thought you would appreciate that the most", he told him.   
  
Shiro gave him a small smile, "Let me return the favor then."  
  
The human took off his shirt, showing off his muscled chest. His abdomen had a six-pack that seemed very muscular. His chest wasn't as big as Sendak's, but for a human he was stronger than most. Sendak was at a loss for words. He continued to purr, perhaps more than before.  
  
"You, you look, well-"   
  
"Beautiful?", Shiro finished for him.   
  
Sendak had a look of love about him again. He enjoyed the intimacy, feeling Shiro's breath hit his face.   
  
"I was thinking more along the lines of divine, perfect, masterpiece but uh", he was interrupted as Shiro began to lean in.   
  
"I could say the same about you, ya big ol teddy bear", he told Sendak, who looked ready for a kiss.   
  
And at the next moment, he got his wish. Shiro met Sendak's lips and they shared a passionate kiss that lasted for a minute or two. Occasionally their tongues would meet, not intensely, just a light touch to each other. Sendak ran his hand over Shiro's shoulder, rubbing it in hopes he enjoyed a massage. Shiro ran his fingers through Sendak's neck fur in return, making Sendak let out a pleasured sound. They held each others heads and were lost in their own thoughts.   
  
 _'Such soft skin, I would love to feel this for an eternity',_ Sendak thought to himself.   
  
 _'Such warm fur, I could bury my body in his for as long as I live',_ Shiro said, also in thought. He could feel little fur hairs tickle his face while he moved his mouth in rhythm with Sendak. He pulled away from him for a moment, and put his arm up to play the movie again.   
  
"Still hooked on that movie, huh?", Sendak asked Shiro.   
  
"I wanna finish it at least. We can lie here together, and watch it."   
  
He shifted a little and put his head on Sendak's chest, which held that silky smooth fur. Shiro made himself comfy in that place, resting it snugly in the center, letting the fur heat his face. He could hear Sendak's purrs growing, and he let out a happy sigh. It was calming, that sound, and he fell asleep with the relaxing purr.  
  
As the movie ended, with Chihiro leaving the world of spirits with her parents, Sendak smiled.   
  
"You were right, that was a good story", he told Shiro.   
  
Shiro woke up, Sendak didn't notice he had fallen asleep. He half-effortedly put his arm up to turn the holo-tv off, which turned off the holographic display.   
  
He mumbled slightly, "Whuzz going on now? Did you like the moovieeee?"   
  
Sendak pulled Shiro's head closer and whispered in his ear. "It was as beautiful as the man laying on me right now", he said, and then kissed Shiro's hair.  
  
Sendak turned off the small lamp, (well, small for him), that was next to the couch. He kept Shiro close to his face so he could lean into his head a little. His robotic arm grabbed the t-shirt he bought earlier and put it over the two as a makeshift blanket. Shiro stretched a little and made a happy "mmm" noise, puttiing his arm under Sendak in a hug. They drifted into sleep, Sendak holding Shiro close against his warm body.  
  
   
  
  
Sendak was awoken by the sound of a popping sound entering his ears. He got off the couch and saw his t-shirt folded nicely and set on the coffee table. He unfolded it and put it over his shoulder and went to sit at the table in the kitchen. Shiro hadn't noticed him yet, but he accidentally got burned from the grease in the frying pan and turned around while rubbing his arm. He waved to Sendak, forgetting his miniature burns at the sight of Sendak.   
  
"Well good morning to you, pillow", he told the somewhat sleepy galra, who yawned and showed his unique teeth.   
  
Shiro noticed he hadn't put his shirt on beyond putting it on his shoulder like a towel.   
  
"Showing off your chest this early? I may just have to throw this out for your overconfidence."   
  
Sendak yawned again, "Mmmmmmhmmmmm, well it's a private space in here, no reason to get rid of the view you like".   
  
Shiro smiled, he wasn't wrong there. Sendak began to sit down, but noticed that his legs didn't fit under the table very well. In fact, they were slightly lifting it up on the side, making it's contents start to slide. Shiro quickly caught the vase that would've broken, but didn't catch the magazines.   
  
"Oh, um, sorry about that", Sendak told Shiro, who looked annoyed.   
  
Sendak looked worried for a second, but then Shiro started laughing.   
  
"I can't believe you thought I would be mad about magazines accidentally falling off the table, the look on your face", he said to Sendak, who indeed looked unamused about the little prank. Sendak joined in soon enough, laughing it off as he began to lower himself.   
  
"I'll just kneel then, that way I can still eat at the table."  
  
"As you can tell, I'm making another food for you, it's called bacon. You wanna try it?", he asked Sendak.   
  
Sendak sniffed the air, and decided it was a good smell. "Sure I'll give it a shot, is it ready yet?", he asked.   
  
"It should be riiiiiiiiiiiiggggghhhttt abooooouuuuuut now."   
  
Shiro gathered it all onto a plate and presented it to Sendak, who inspected it closely.   
  
"This looks remarkably similar to another food back home, are you sure I haven't eaten this before?"   
  
Shiro shrugged, he had no idea what Sendak ate on the galra home planet.   
  
"Well meat isn't an earth only item, probably bound to be similar ways of preparing it elsewhere."   
  
Sendak nodded in agreement and took a bite of the bacon, which crunched on the edges and then tore off from the rest of the strip. He chewed on it for a moment and swallowed, and smiled. He ate the rest of the pieces and then asked for more, Shiro surprised at his appetite for the stuff. Shiro also gave him eggs on toast, which Sendak was somewhat familiar with, but he liked the taste of earth eggs regardless.

Sendak sniffed his armpit, and noticed he was beginning to give off a bad stench.   
  
"Hey do you know where your shower is?", he asked Shiro.   
  
Shiro figured he would ask about that sooner or later. "I had a shower earlier, but I can show you where the bathroom is", he told Sendak.   
  
Sendak raised an eyebrow and smiled.   
  
"Does this go where I think it's going?", he asked a facepalming Shiro.   
  
Shiro smiled and took his hand off his face, then began to speak to Sendak.   
  
"Always a flirt aren't you? But I...I guess I'm not looking for that right now. We only just met yesterday, and I know I said some innuendoish things at the park, but you never instigated anything beyond holding each other. That surprises me the most, that a guy like you didn't try and treat me as a one-night stand. I really do like you, y'know? I honestly just expected you to nudge me towards my bedroom door. Not that having sex with you would be bad, just that most guys tend to treat me as a one time thing, not really holding each other at all. I've had so many guys never contact me after they have their way with me....."   
  
Shiro looked slightly sad now, reminiscing about never connecting more with them. Sendak got up and put his arm around him, wrapping him in a warm hug. He was beginning to purr in the hopes that it would make his human date happy, which luckily it did.   
  
"You're too good for them. It's their loss in my opinion, they don't get to spend so much time with you", he told the happier human.   
  
Shiro was smiling now and rubbed the purring chest of the larger galra. Sendak held him for a moment more, and Shiro backed away from his grip. He took Sendak's hand and led him to the bathroom. He motioned Sendak to put his head down, and then whispered in his ear.   
  
"Have a nice shower you big sweetie", he told him, and then kissed his purple cheek.  
  
   
  
  
Sendak got into the shower and took his clothes off. The shower system automatically turned on as he stepped in, and it prompted a pop-up for the temperature. Sendak made it warm, but not too hot. As he scrubbed his furry body, he began to think about Shiro.   
  
 _'I don't deserve him, he doesn't need to be hurt again. How do I tell him that I can't stay with him forever.....',_ he thought to himself.   
  
After 15 minutes, he had finished and he instructed the shower to turn off. He shook his entire body like a dog before stepping out from the glass doors in order to get the water off easier. He took one towel, then another, and then finally another one in order to dry and wrap himself. He reached for the clothes rack, and realized he hadn't brought any other clothes than the one's he had worn. Those sweaty, dirty clothes lied on the floor of the bathroom under his feet. He hit his face, and quietly swore, so as not to surprise Shiro. He stepped out of the bathroom, and was slightly worried about what he would do.  
  
He didn't know how Shiro would react as he walked out. Shiro was watching the holo-tv and looked at Sendak. He raised one eyebrow and smiled, enjoying the sight of him without clothes.   
  
"Got anything packing down there?", he told Sendak as he looked at Sendak's impressive crotch bulge.   
  
Sendak covered it and explained to Shiro. "So, uh, I forgot to bring extra clothes with me. Can you wash the ones that are on the bathroom floor please?"   
  
The human got up and walked towards the bathroom, "Sure thing handsome."   
  
He grabbed Sendak's butt for a quick squeeze as he passed, prompting a quick yelp from him. Sendak walked up to the kitchen table to kneel again.  
  
"I'll get you back for that, mark my words", he playfully said. Shiro laughed and gathered up the dirty clothes on the bathroom floor.   
  
Unbeknownst to Sendak, Shiro was intently smelling them one by one.  _'Socks: Ew. Pants: Mmmm. Shirt: I love it. Underwear: I better not sniff that, probably too dirty. This is so wrong but I love his smell soo much',_ he thought to himself. Shiro left the apartment and went down the hall to the laundry room to wash Sendak's clothes.  
  
Sendak turned on his phone for the first time since the date started the previous day. He had turned it off to spend more time with Shiro. He prompted the phone to say notifications, with two particular ones standing out.   
  
'"You have '2' missed phone calls from 'Keith'. You have '3' missed text messages from 'Keith'.   
  
 _'That's odd, should I tell him what's going on?',_ he thought.   
  
He decided against it and looked through the Univ-news.   
  
"So the Unilu are building another space mall. As if we didn't have enough among the thousands already", he said to himself. The apartment door opened as Sendak was still scrolling and Shiro sped past.   
  
"SorryIreallygottagotothebathroom", he rushed out of his mouth.   
  
Sendak looked puzzled for a moment, then went back to scrolling. Shiro finished and went towards the kitchen when he stopped suddenly. Sendak's towels under the table were acting as a makeshift kilt. Through no fault of his own, Sendak was going commando in true kilt fashion. Shiro blushed, covered his eyes, and made a neutral face as he explained.   
  
"I....I can see your, uh, 'thing' right now", he said to Sendak.  
  
Sendak got up and made a smug grin, Shiro wondered why he was so happy about this.   
  
"I can see your 'thing' as well", he said pointing at Shiro's crotch.   
  
Shiro had, like any other person, become very happy down there from seeing an intimate partner like that. He covered his crotch quickly and turned around, waiting for it to settle down.   
  
"Sorrysorrysorrysorry", he told Sendak, who was laughing as he leaned against the kitchen counter. Shiro made a grumpy face as he heard Sendak enjoying the situation.   
  
"It's completely natural to have a boner when seeing someone's dick you know", the laughing galra told the flustered human.   
  
Shiro was embarrassed by the whole affair and made a loud groan of anger. Sendak saw an opportunity to do something he had promised, and took it. He went towards Shiro and lightly smacked his butt. Shiro gasped, and turned around with an extremely displeased look.   
  
"You did not just smack my ass", he told Sendak. Sendak lightly chuckled and Shiro looked at him with a frown, then a smile, and began laughing too. Sendak squinted slightly and smiled at Shiro, and he gave him 'the look'.   
  
"You're pretty cute when you get angry, you know?", he told Shiro as he got closer. Shiro was at a loss for words, and Sendak put his furry forehead on the humans forehead.   
  
"Well what d'you know, looking down, you're still pretty happy about this situation", he said in reference to Shiro's still present boner.   
  
"Oh look at that, I'm happy too", he said in reference to his growing 'thing' as he grabbed Shiro's waist. They eagerly kissed for a few seconds, but Shiro pulled away.   
  
"I...I can't. I already told you I'm not ready for it yet", he told Sendak, a bit of sadness in his voice.  
  
Sendak lowered his ears in slight disappointment but smiled with it.   
  
"Sorry, I should've remembered better. Are......are you mad at me?", he asked.   
  
Shiro sighed, "No I'm not mad at you, I just thought you had remembered my feelings on this."   
  
Sendak had pity for his couch partner, he didn't mean to offend him.   
  
"I'm sorry, I mean it. I won't overstep my boundaries again, unless you want something to happen", he told Shiro.   
  
Shiro looked up at Sendak, who genuinely looked regretful, and he gave a small smile. He hugged Sendak and led him to the couch.   
  
"Lets watch some tv while your clothes wash."   
  
Sendak complied and sat down on the couch with Shiro. They watched a show for half an hour before Shiro left to put Sendak's clothes in the dryer. In his brief absence, Sendak had found a channel that he found very interesting. Shiro came back in and looked at the galra, who had a devious grin on his face.   
  
"Hey Shiro, what about this show, I hear it's the best in the trilogy."   
  
Shiro looked to the holo-tv, which read 'Hot young twink gets punished by daddy 3'. He frowned and put his palm to his face, making Sendak laugh.   
  
"You are so dorky, you know that right?", Shiro said. He put his arm up and put on something else.   
  
"Stop sitting in the middle so I can be next to you, ya dorky cutie", Shiro told Sendak, who made space for Shiro.   
  
They had watched a few shows Shiro liked, and even though Sendak sometimes didn't understand them, he still enjoyed watching it with the human on his arm. Shiro leaned into Sendak while they watched the holo-tv, and he responded with a truly romantic action: licking Shiro's face without his permission.  
  
Shiro immediately became disgusted, "Why do you do this?"   
  
Sendak chuckled and began to purr, "Because it's fun to see you suffer under my annoyances."   
  
Shiro rolled his eyes at those words. "Ah yes, 'I annoy my boyfrien-my date on the second time they've watched anything together', how romantic", he said to a stunned Sendak.   
  
"What was that you said in there, starts with a 'b'?", he asked the red cheeked Shiro.   
  
"Nothing, I didn't say anything. Just forget about-", Sendak cheered over his speaking.   
  
"You called me your boyfriend, that's a pretty serious step you know", he said as he leaned closer and nuzzled his cheek.   
  
Shiro pushed him away, "Sh-shut up. I like you a lot and I wouldn't ignore you after you go back to hang out with your friend, so I guess I got pretty comfortable."   
  
Sendak got up from the couch and grabbed Shiro. He pulled him up into the air and held him up to head level and kissed him. Shiro didn't mind the kiss but he was confused.   
  
"Do you know what this means?", Sendak told Shiro. "It means that I finally found someone again", he said, twirling Shiro around.   
  
"Ok, but are you putting me down?", he said as he ruffled Sendak's furry head.   
  
"Whatever you want, as long as I can make you happy, 'boyfriend'", Sendak happily said.  
   
He put Shiro on one cushion and his own body on the rest of the couch. He was careful not to knock over the table lamp, and leaned his legs to the side rather than straight down the couch. He laid his fluffy head on Shiro's lap, and gave him instructions on what to do.   
  
"Pet me, please, I like how it feels when you pet me", he said.   
  
Shiro smiled and gently moved over Sendak's purple mass of hair.   
  
Sendak purred, making Shiro smile, "You're just an overgrown cat."   
  
"And you dislike this now?", he responded.  
  
Shiro moved his hands softly through Sendak's silky fur, his purrs growing louder by the second. He went under the towel on Sendaks chest and moved his hand through the furry mass located there. He could feel the purrs here, and he liked them. He rubbed his shoulder, up and down his regular arm. He moved his hand through Sendak's face, scratching under the cheeks and softly petting them. He moved his hand down one of the ears, which suddenly twitched.   
  
"Does it need itched right now?", he asked Sendak.   
  
Sendak nodded a confirmation, and Shiro began to scratch behind the ear. Sendak purred his loudest and adjusted his head so he could get ear scratches better. His head kept leaning as he got the free ear scratching. Shiro giggled, and continued to make him happy. He enjoyed petting him, Sendak really was an overgrown cat.  
  
They continued on like that for awhile, just a petting session, and then Sendak got his head up from Shiro's lap.   
  
He put his head above Shiro's, "Will you get mad at me for this?"   
  
Shiro wasn't sure what he meant, but he went with it anyways.   
  
"No, do what you're planning as long as it isn't sexual."   
  
Sendak made a small laugh and began grooming Shiro's hair with his tongue.   
  
Shiro was surprised, "H-Hey, this isn't what I agreed to you jerk."   
  
Sendak stopped for a moment, only to speak in disregard for his complaints. "Too late, it's your turn to be on the receiving end."   
  
Shiro was laughing a little, "Stooooop, it tickles, you planned this didn't you."   
  
Sendak licked the white hair above Shiro's forehead and made it all go down. He stopped for a moment, then intentionally messed up some of Shiro's black hair so he could groom it down. Shiro laid still as Sendak groomed where he went, and he started to smile.   
  
 _'Damn, don't let him see that you're enjoying this',_ he thought. He made a neutral face as Sendak continued on, now just grooming the shaved parts of his head, which put a sensation through Shiro. He didn't know why, but his tongue felt very good against human skin. He let out a happy "mmmm", and Sendak stopped again.   
  
"So this means you want me to continue the grooming then?", he asked.   
  
Shiro nodded, and put his head against Sendak, who continued the grooming.  
  
He stopped once he had gotten all of the hair on his head licked to look a certain way.   
  
"All right, now just a sec", he told Shiro while he grabbed his phone.   
  
"Smile for the camera."   
  
The human did so and Sendak snapped it quickly. Then he frowned as he looked at the phone, upsetting Shiro.   
  
"What, what's wrong?", he asked the still frowning Sendak.   
  
"Nothing, it's just, something is wrong with this photo. The human here looks too damn handsome", he said as he showed Shiro the picture.   
  
He saw himself in the photo, he looked nice after the licking. Sendak really knew how to groom hair to look good. He smiled and pressed the save button on the phone.   
  
"Keep it ya big teddie bear, it's a good photo."   
  
Sendak smiled and put his phone down.  
  
Shiro went up to get Sendak's clothes, which were probably dry now. He gathered the clothes into a basket and got back to the apartment. Sendak was doing one armed push-ups in an open space on the floor.   
  
"Oh don't mind me, just keeping a sexy look for ya", he told Shiro.   
  
Shiro gave him a 'are you serious' look. "Well since you're down there, then you can have these down there too."   
  
Shiro proceeded to pour the basket of clothes on Sendak's head, making Sendak get up and chase Shiro around briefly.   
  
"Get back here, I won't stand for this in-"   
  
"OH, you won't stand for this in MY apartment?", Shiro quickly interjected.   
  
They ended up on opposite sides of the kitchen table.   
  
"Your move, pretty boy", Sendak said as he got a devious grin on his face.   
  
Shiro looked left, then right, then suddenly ducked down.   
  
"You're gonna stay down there huh, pretty bad move on your part", Sendak told him.   
  
Shiro crawled under the table to Sendak's side, and let himself be picked up Sendak.   
  
"Well you caught me, what's gonna happen now?", he said, expecting a kiss.  
  
 Sendak moved his face forward, and connected their lips. Shiro was making pleasureable moans, which then turned into laughs once Sendak started licking his cheeks.   
  
"Stoooop, ok now put me down. Get your clothes on so we can meet your friend, he's probably wondering why it's taking you longer than usual to get back."   
  
Sendak got his clothes off the floor and went into the bathroom to change. He came out, and Shiro walked over to him. The human poked him in the chest, "I knew that shirt would look fantastic on you."   
  
Sendak licked shiro's hair again, "And I knew you would love a grooming session."   
  
Shiro took the galra's hand and led him to the apartment door.

They left the apartment complex and made their way towards Keith's hotel, which was about 10 minutes away. They talked about various things, such as pizza vs bacon.   
  
"I like the pizza more, it had meat and that melty stuff on it", Sendak told Shiro.   
  
Shiro quickly retorted, "That 'melty stuff' is called cheese, and it only had meat on it because I ordered pepperoni. I bet you could be swayed to like bacon more if I ordered that on it next time."   
  
"You can order whatever you want, so far Earth food has been great."

  
   
  
Soon the pair arrived at the hotel, and made their way up to Sendak and Keith's hotel room.   
  
"I don't know if you saw him yesterday at the store, he's not your typical galra. His dad was a human, and he inherited the human size from him", Sendak said.   
  
"Are you worried that I'm gonna stare at him or something? Just because he's smaller than you?", Shiro asked.   
  
"It's just......he doesn't like it when people ask him about his size", Sendak told him.   
  
Shiro put his lover's worries to rest, "I don't judge others because they're bigger or smaller, I judge them based on their personality. Besides, I know what it feels like to be judged, and needless to say, we'll probably get a lot of glances for being a same sex interspecies couple."   
  
Sendak looked confused, "What do you mean? Nobody judges couples back where I live, are things different on Earth?"   
  
Shiro looked away for a moment while frowning, "Earth is...complicated when it comes to certain relationships. Everyone is equal and no one gets discriminated against, even aliens. That doesn't stop judgemental looks or efforts to keep certain couples, or even aliens, outside of public establishments."   
  
Sendak lowered his ears in disappointment, then did a tough-guy stare.   
  
"I'll keep them away from you, don't worry", he told Shiro while kissing his forehead.  
  
Sendak unlocked the hotel room door and went in with Shiro. A door was heard opening and Keith popped his through the opening.   
  
"Hey, so my buddy didn't actually die. Took you longer than usual to get back here." He noticed Shiro next to Sendak and made a curious look.   
  
"Wait, are you two going out now? That was quick", he said, Sendak opening his mouth to explain that they weren't official.   
  
"I wouldn't say, I don't know if he's-"   
  
"Yes, I think I have to steal your friend away sometimes. Sorry about that", Shiro said in interruption, as Sendak's mouth was open in shock, but also joy. He didn't think Shiro would publicly call them a couple, but it seemed he had some surprises.   
  
Keith smiled, "Congratulations man, don't fuck it up this time."   
  
He laughed and ran to the bathroom, Sendak banging his fist on the door while Keith was losing it.   
  
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THIS TIME YOU LITTLE RUNT."   
  
Sendak sat down on the bed and spoke to Shiro, "Sorry, we talk like that to each other."   
  
Keith came out of the bathroom, "Ok, ok, maybe I went too faAA-", he was grabbed into a headlock by Sendak, who proceeded to give him noogies. Keith was released from his grip and allowed breathing room.   
  
"That's for embarrassing me in front of my new boyfriend", said Sendak.  
  
Keith laughed, and sat down on his bed. "So what, are we all gonna hang out together? The beach is only 5 minutes away, more or less." The couple in front of him nodded, and the plan was set.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, that's done for now, hope you enjoyed the chapter. Leave any criticisms or suggestions in the comments if you could, thanks :)


	3. The beach and the bar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group hits the beach for a bit, and Keith finds someone there who he falls head over heels for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a little longer than I thought, sorry.  
> A little warning, there is a groping scene. If you're uncomfortable with that I just wanted to let you know. It won't turn into rape, don't worry, and it's resolved quickly.  
> 

Keith was talking with Shiro as Sendak got himself ready for the beach. Evidently he needed to gel his fur, because he wanted to look good before he went into the water. Keith asked about the date, curious to know how well they blended together.  
  
"So, he been treating you fine?", he asked.  
  
"Oh yes. He's, well he's very affectionate. Don't tell anyone else outside the hotel room, but my hair looks like this because he groomed it to look like that", Shiro said.  
  
Keith looked surprised by that remark, grooming was typically done to someone you felt close to in a relationship.  
  
"When you say grooming do you mean with his hand using a brush or did he do it the galra way?"  
  
"Galra way, cause it's fun", Sendak answered for him, as he had been listening to them from a few feet away while getting swimming trunks. Shiro glared at him for a moment, then turned back to Keith.  
  
"Yes, he used his tongue. I thought that I would be drowning in spit, but it really only went where he licked."  
  
Keith knocked his fist against his head, "How else do you think he makes his fur on his arms stay down in the morning?".  
  
Sendak finished getting the supplies, and handed Keith his trunks.  
  
"Ok we're all set, except that I just realized we aren't. Shiro, we're gonna have to stop by your apartment."  
  
Keith looked at his watch and it read '2:30'. "Let's make it quick, we only have about 3-4 hours until sundown."  
  
They hastily walked back to the apartment to get Shiro's beach clothes. They soon arrived there, Shiro promising to not take more than a few minutes on gathering supplies. Keith decided to let Sendak in on how humans usually approached the beaches on Earth.  
  
"He may take a little longer, humans need to take a lot of precautions before swimming."  
  
Sendak leaned his regular arm against the door frame, "Oh yeah? Why is that?"  
  
"Human skin has a lot of needs that galra don't usually need, it's sensitive to the sun that Earth has. It might burn if exposed too long", he told his now concerned friend.  
  
Sendak's mind filled with grim thoughts, did humans catch fire from prolonged exposure?  
  
"You don't mean that they'll burst into flames do you?", he asked Keith.  
  
Keith put a palm on his face and smiled, "No it's not like that, think of it more as prolonged exposure to it's radiation which will gradually heat the skin too much, give it a burn. Like if you put your hand too close to a fire and let it get too hot."  
  
Sendak was relieved, "Pheeew. Gave me a heart attack for a second there."  
  
He laughed at Sendak taking the radiation too seriously, "I can't believe you thought he would burn to ashes on the beach."  
  
Keith's laugh stopped soon, and he began to be serious again. "Have you thought about what I said? About making it work with him?"  
  
Sendak frowned slightly and put his ears down a little. "I haven't done it much thought, no. I was too caught up in loving him, but not in that sense, I mean genuine love. He's something else, I tell ya. But I know what you mean, I still haven't made up my mind. I'm not even sure if he's looking on making this permanent."  
  
Worry struck Keith, "You better find out soon, it's not good to hurt yourself like that, much less the other person. Last time you broke up with someone, you were depressed for 3 days over it."  
  
Sendak remembered his last relationship, he tried to make it work with someone that wasn't compatible anymore. As much as he thought he could improve himself, she just didn't want him the same way anymore. The breakup was hard on him, like Keith said he was depressed for a few days. Luckily his very same friend was there to support him and cheer him up.  
  
"I'll try and tell him later, I just don't know how right now", Sendak said, thoughts of a breakup occupying his mind, unwelcome as they were.  
  
Shiro came out of the apartment and looked at the two, he was holding a sizable bag. Sendak looked at how stuffed it was, some of it seemed like it was barely contained inside.  
  
"You uh, got enough towels in there man?", he said.  
  
"I don't know, really. I think I should just bring one for my oversized boyfriend. He can just try and use one towel on the sand and get it aaaalll over his fur", Shiro said, he enjoyed teasing Sendak for a second.  
  
"Point taken, no more complaints from me", Sendak said, putting his arm up.  
  
"That'll last long, believe me", Keith told Shiro.  
  
"You won't last if you keep pushing me, I think I can see another noogie happening today", Sendak said, smiling evilly at Keith.  
  
"All right, no more quips...for now", he said, displaying an equally evil smile.  
  
Shiro was raising his eyebrow at the two, tapping his foot from how impatient he was to swim.  
  
"Sorry sugarpie, I'll stop arguing for your sake", Sendak told him.  
  
Shiro had a questioning look on his face. Did Sendak really just call him 'sugarpie'?  
  
"My, how chivalrous of you my honeybunch", he said, making Sendak and Keith slightly cringe at the sappy name.  
  
"Yeah, two can play at that game. I don't think we're 'old married couple calling each other sappy things' quite yet", he told his boyfriend.  
  
Keith smiled and bumped Sendak's side slightly, "Yeah dude, who calls their new boyfriend sugarpie? Honestly Shiro I don't know how I would forgive someone if they did that."  
  
Shiro shook his head, "I'll just have to break up with him, he's too loving to date."  
  
Sendak looked incredibly annoyed at Keith, and put him in the familiar headlock, ruining whatever semblance of normal shape his hair had.  
  
"I told you this is what happens when you decide to fuck around with me", he said as he noogied Keith. Keith was released and the small group laughed about it, all heading to the beach.  
  
   
  
  
The three went to the changing rooms when they arrived to put on their swimming trunks. Sendak had brought a dark purple pair, to match his fur. Keith had opted for a tropical themed pair, red with gray palm trees. Shiro went with a pair that was black with white stripes on the sides.  
  
Sendak stood in front of Shiro, "How do I look?", he asked while flexing himself.  
  
Shiro put a finger to his mouth, then gave his verdict. "Well, if we weren't dating, you would probably be able to pick up anyone you chose here."  
  
Keith snorted, "Don't boost his ego, he'll only become worse if you do."  
  
Sendak smirked, "Aww, is someone jealous that they're not a ripped stud like me?", and he flexed his arm harder while Shiro laughed.  
  
"You two are ridiculous. All right, dominance session over, lets get down to the sand and surf."  
  
They proceeded out towards the beach and laid their towels down in the middle of it. As Sendak laid his towels down, a volley ball suddenly landed next to him. It got a bit of sand on his towel, so he had to shake it to get the grains off easily.  
  
"Oh I'm sorry, I was serving it and it landed near you. Care to toss that back to me?", said a brown-haired girl.  
  
She looked to be in her early 20's, wearing a t-shirt and shorts. Sendak looked behind her at the volleyball net was a distance away from them. Her friends were smiling and looking at her talking to Sendak.  
  
"Sure, 'accidents happen' as they say", he said as he tossed her the volleyball.   
  
"Hey, do you and your friends wanna join us for a quick game of volleyball? Boys vs. girls?", she asked.  
  
"I dunno, Shiro do you want to play some volleyball? I've never played it before", Sendak told his boyfriend.  
  
"But what about swimming, I'll burn in the sun", Shiro said, his face and voice filled with complaint.  
  
Keith put his head up to add to the whining.  
  
"Yeah, I didn't really expeeee-", Keith trailed off when he saw someone sitting near the volleyball net.  
  
He didn't know if that man was with the girls or just happened to be sitting there. He was a galra, but not in the furry sense. He had no hair whatsoever, but this only served to show his muscles better. He had a dark gray crest of, a shell like thing? It went from his head down behind him. He looked older than the mostly younger beachgoers, but he was like a silver fox, only without the silver. He was reading under an umbrella, nothing else concerning him.  
  
"Helloooo, Earth to Keith. I'm using that because you said that a lot to me before, but it should apply to you now", Sendak said, shaking his friend.  
  
"Sure, we can play I suppose. Half hour, at the most", Keith said, snapping his eyes away from his sudden crush.  
  
  
Sendak was told the rules of the game, but he was a terrible player. This was understandable, first-time games don't end well for newcomers. More often than not, he grabbed the ball rather than hitting it back. Shiro had to walk over to Sendak to grab his arms and manually show how to hit it back.  
  
"Like that, back to them, ok?", he said.  
  
Sendak whined, "I really am trying my best with this, it's my first time."  
  
Keith, who was in the middle part of his teams side, kept glancing at the Galra sitting next to the game. Sendak and Shiro hadn't noticed him staring at him, so it was fine. His skin seemed to shine in the sunlight, which the galra noticed as well, and he got up to adjust his umbrella. Keith saw that his back had more of the dark gray, shell like thing that he saw before. He looked at the galra's butt and gulped a little, it was perfectly round.  
  
"Keith, buddy. The game is right here, pay attention", Sendak said, poking his friend back to volleyball.  
  
"Shit, uh, sorry. Let's get back to the game", he said.  
  
Keith couldn't stop thinking about the unnamed galran man sitting there. They got back to playing the game, and he couldn't help but try and steal quick glances at the reading alien. He got a little more daring each time, soon not paying attention whatsoever to helping his team.  
  
_'My god, look at that chest, it's perfect. His thighs are great too. Pretty good looking for his age',_  he thought to himself.  
  
*THWACK*  
  
He was hit square in the face from a volleyball, which made him fall onto the sand. Thirsting for someone else came back to bite him in the ass.

"Woah, you ok there man? Got hit in a bad way?", Sendak said, helping his friend up.  
  
"I'm fine, it's nothing", Keith said as glanced at the galran man, who got away from his book because of the 'thwak' sound and the players reaction to it. He had one eyebrow raised and was slightly frowning. Keith quickly looked away from him.  
  
"Why do you keep looking over there?", Sendak said as he looked over and saw the galran man, who had resumed his reading at this point. He looked back and forth between the two for a second and made the connection. A smile took over his face from ear to ear.  
  
"What?", Keith asked.  
  
"Nothing, let's get back to the game", Sendak said, unusually happy at going back to losing.   
  
_'Shit, now he knows',_ Keith thought.  
  
The final tally was 11-4, girls winning over the boys, mostly because of Sendak's inexperience.  
  
The brown haired girl stopped Sendak for a moment, "Hey, you really...well...did what you could."  
  
Sendak laughed it off, "Yeah, I'm terrible at this. You don't have to pretty it up."  
  
"I'm Pidge, it's nice to make your acquaintance. Hey, do you want to meet me later at the bar? I work there and I could get some free drinks. I know some ways we can have fun before I have to get on shift", she said, flirt evident in her voice.  
  
"Oh, well, the thing about that is, I'm taken right now. This guy is my boyfriend", he grabbed Shiro who smiled and waved nervously. "I just don't wanna disappoint you by blowing you off in the worst way, y'know?"  
  
She was a little surprised, "O-oh, my bad. I didn't see it I guess, I thought you were just friends all hanging out together. I didn't realize you were a couple, heh, whoops."  
  
She looked to the side in slight embarrassment, rubbing her arm. Sendak didn't want to leave her like that, so he moved to make plans to meet up later.  
  
"Hey, it's fine. We could still stop by when you're working, me and my little group I got here. Have some drinks and become friendly with the locals. What time do you start serving beer?"  
  
She smiled, "Around 9:00, stop by and I'll give you and your friends a free beer on me."  
  
He agreed to meet then, and waved goodbye as she walked off with her friends. Meanwhile Keith had been staring at the no-namer intently. Everytime he blinked it seemed as if his eyes shined, or maybe that was just Keith's desire.  
  
"Boo", Sendak said, bumping his friend.  
  
Keith jumped slightly, "Don't do that dude. I'm...trying to look at the horizon."  
  
Sendak looked up, "Really now? It looks the same as yesterday to me, nothing special in the sky. Why don't we discuss the 'horizon' over here. Shiro, head back to our stuff if you would, this is between me and Keith."  
  
Shiro nodded, and headed towards their towels. Once Sendak and Keith were far enough from the reading galra, Sendak fistbumped Keith's shoulder.  
  
"Look at you, already finding someone to ask out on the second day here", he said to the displeased Keith.  
  
"I don't know what you're saying, the view was just really nice to look at", he said with an annoyed look.  
  
"Yeah, well, 'the view' is looking over here right now."  
  
Keith turned his head in excitement, but the galra was still reading and paying little attention to anything else. Sendak laughed as Keith tried to shove him around.  
  
"Asshole, you don't need to trick me like that."  
  
"And you don't need to hide anything from me, I won't tell if you want to keep it secret for now", Sendak said as he ruffled Keith's hair lightly.  
  
"Well.....you can tell Shiro, but not anyone else. I don't want a possible rejection to be widely known", he said with an annoyed glare.  
  
Sendak got behind Keith and started pushing him towards his new crush. "Just go talk to him, see how it works out." He stopped nudging along his best friend.  
  
"All right, you don't have to-typical", Keith said as he looked behind himself. His friend was jogging towards Shiro while giving a thumbs up to Keith. He looked at the galran man under the umbrella, then started walking towards him somewhat nervously.  
  
_'Now or never',_ he thought, slowly going to a possible catch.  
  
  
  
He reached the umbrella the reader was under, and the man looked up from his book to find out why there was a shadow suddenly cast over him. Keith was smiling at him, but the man looked back at his book, ignoring Keith with a glare. Keith, cleared his throat and began speaking to him.  
  
"Hey there, my name is-"  
  
"Go. Away.", the galran said, hoping Keith would leave.  
  
Keith stumbled for a moment, but got back to normal posture.  
  
"It's keith, what's yours?", he asked the frowning galra.  
  
The man grumbled a little, "Weren't you hit with a volleyball a little bit ago?"  
  
Keith stumbled with his words, "Well, I mean, yes, but-"  
  
"But what?", the man said, losing tolerance for the conversation.   
  
Keith lost a bit of his smile, "It's not relevant to what I'm asking, I just wanna know your name."   
  
"If I told you would you leave?"   
  
Keith raised his brows, "I might. 75/25 chance."   
  
"It's Zarkon, now please go about your day", he told the smiling youngster.   
  
"It was a 75% chance of me staying versus the other 25%, and now I'll stay for a minute", he told Zarkon, who was now groaning.   
  
"Damnit, what do you want?"   
  
"I want to get to know you bet-", he was interrupted by Zarkon slamming his book shut.   
  
"Let me tell you what's happened so far today; I've had 4 girls and 3 guys, you being one of them, try and pick me up. They all had crappy pick-up lines to spare, and I've heard them all. You're lucky I haven't left yet before you got a chance to become another interruption. So let me ask you this: What makes you think you're any different?" He sat there, an expectant face looking at Keith for a good excuse to come out of his mouth.   
  
Keith tried to think of something good to say, then went with something truly unique. "I'm half galra-half human rather than a full one either way. That has to count for something", he told him, though his face didn't change much beyond slight surprise.  
  
"I have to say, this is the first time I've been propositioned by a mixed species person while I was here, but it makes no difference. I want to read this book, please leave", he ordered while waving his hand in a 'dismissed' way.   
  
Keith frowned a little, "Please would you at least consider a date? I can't be the worst guy that's asked you so far."   
  
Keith had put his arms up in the air slightly, making Zarkon laugh at his frustration.   
  
"You're pretty confident in this aren't you? No, you're not the worst person that's approached today. You may be up higher with the better looking one's I've declined today. But I am not-"   
  
"That book you're reading, 'To Kill A Mockingbird'? I know what it's about. Scout, her brother, and their friend watch her father defend an innocent man accused of rape. It's a social commentary about racism. Am I wrong?", Keith said. Hopefully Zarkon would be impressed that he'd read it before.   
  
Zarkon's mouth was slightly open, he hadn't expected him to show interest in the book he was reading, much less know about it.   
  
"No.....that's correct. You're pretty determined about this whole thing. I'll admit, I'm impressed you didn't just look at me rather than what I was doing. If I agreed to a date, would you leave?", he asked him.   
  
"I would. Meet me at the bar later, about 9:00?"   
  
"Fine, is there a need to wear anything specific?", he asked Keith.   
  
"Wear tight pants if you could, they would bring out your butt nicely", he said, looking at how his face lit up a little. Indeed, Zarkon was actually blushing, ironic considering he was complimented by someone he'd considered annoying not 3 minutes before.   
  
"....Duly noted. Now take your leave, I want to finish this book. I'll see you at the bar later", he said, holding the book up to try and hide the blushing. Keith waved goodbye to him as he headed back to the other two.   
  
  
  
Sendak looked up at his friends arrival and smiled, "Sooo, how'd it go?"   
  
Keith put his hand behind his head, "I think he agreed to meet later at the bar."  
  
Sendak raised his robotic arm up in a fist, which Keith bumped. Shiro congratulated him on getting to meet someone.   
  
"He's just gonna meet us then? A double date, that sounds nice. What's his name?", Sendak asked, eager to spoil details on him.   
  
"I'll introduce you later, keep it a surprise", he said, making Sendak groan.   
  
"Laaaaaaaame. So what now?", he asked the both of them. Shiro got up and attempted to pull Sendak towards the water. Pulling someone who was 350+ lbs. of pure muscle proved to be a hard move, but he was determined to force him off the sand.  
  
"Now...we...go...to...get...some...swimming...in...before...I...get...burnt...so would you just get up already?!?"   
  
Sendak was amused by Shiro pulling him a little bit closer to the tide each time, never making much progress besides making him half a foot closer at best.   
  
"This is too much fun, plus I don't have to do a thing", he told the annoyed Shiro.   
  
Keith offered a quick solution, "He's ticklish you know, try his stomach."   
  
Sendak suddenly looked a little scared, and tried warning off a evil faced Shiro.   
  
"Don't you dare, I will tackle you and lick you in front of everyone", he threatened.   
  
Keith dropped a few towels on Sendak's face, limiting his visibility. Sendak started laughing quickly, as his boyfriend frantically tickled him while Keith tried holding his regular arm down. Sendak shook Keith off and started to get up, fury in his eyes.   
  
"RUN SHIRO", Keith shouted, laughing at the pissed galra chasing down his boyfriend.   
  
Shiro ran as fast as he could, but when he looked behind him it was as if a slightly angry train had been getting closer to him. He looked forward and ran faster, now somewhat fearfully, into the water. Unfortunately for him it began slowing him down, making him panic slightly. Sendak followed him and tackled him down into the ocean.   
  
"I...caught you..now...you will...suffer...the consequences", he said, and he started to lick Shiro's face in an overly affectionate way while trying to catch his breath.   
  
Shiro pushed him off while laughing, "Ok, ok, you can stop. This is Earth's ocean, and now you've drenched us both."  
  
Shiro looked at his boyfriends fur, which was wet of course and dripping with water. He smiled, liking the way Sendak looked after getting soaked.   
  
"Your fur is going down with the water on it", he told Sendak.   
  
Sendak smiled, "Really? Well your hair isn't as groomed as it was earlier".   
  
He leaned in for a kiss, and suddenly a wave overtook them both. They held onto each other and spit out the salt water once the wave passed. They laughed it off, deciding that it wasn't a great place to kiss, and got closer to the shore. The sun was inching closer down the sky but wasn't a sunset yet. Keith ambushed them with a watergun.   
  
"Gotcha, hey. No, no, NO", he said as Sendak splashed him with a large amount of ocean.   
  
Shiro joined Keith's side, splashing his boyfriend with determination in his assault. Sendak now had to fight a losing battle between two opposing water forces. Keith continued shooting at Sendak in particular, making Sendak get up and try and catch Keith into a headlock. Keith merely hit his face with water every time he got close, with Sendak finally giving up after the first failed minute of his chase.   
  
"You win, now put that thing down and get in the ocean."   
  
Keith complied and stepped into the water, it's temperature being a nice cool off for the 80-degree weather. He let himself drift in the shallow water for a bit, just enjoying the waves and how the water shifted him around.   
  
Shiro took Sendak closer to the beach and showed him little clams that dug into the sand, "See, the water comes in and they have to dig back in."   
  
Sendak liked looking at them digging in, and even grabbed one. To his disappointment it wasn't wriggling around anymore.  
  
"It's not moving anymore, why?", he asked.   
  
"Because you're holding it silly, you have to let it in the sand", Shiro said, taking the tiny clam and putting it back in it's original spot. It started digging in once the water came back.   
  
"See?", he said, looking at his mesmerized boyfriend. Sendak looked at them dig for another 5 minutes, before Shiro made him go into the water.  
  
They went out a little deeper in the water, but he could still stand. Shiro thought of something as a joke, then put it into motion.   
  
"Say Sendak, somethings near your feet."   
  
Sendak looked down and didn't find anything of note, not even his mechanical eye saw life signs.   
  
"I don't see anything, unless you mean yourself", he said, somewhat confused.   
  
Shiro started to make a worried face, "No, it's definitely there. I think it's a....it's a....shark!!!!!"   
  
Sendak looked around and saw nothing, yet again.   
  
"Care to explain what a shark is and why I'm not seeing it?", he asked, scratching his face.   
  
Shiro pouted, "It's an ocean creature that a lot of people are afraid of, figures that you don't know about it. Sometimes they attack humans, but mostly because they think they're a seal or something."   
  
Sendak made an evil grin, then picked up his boyfriend and licked his face for all to see.   
  
"Do you mean like this? Is this how they attack people?", Sendak said mid-lick to a giggling Shiro.   
  
"Stoooop. They bite, they don't put slobber all over someone's face", he said. Sendak got very happy at that for some reason, making Shiro wonder what he liked about that.   
  
"They 'bite' eh? I know a few ways to bite, if you catch my drift."   
  
"You made me look like this in public you dick", Shiro said, red-face as his boyfriend laughed at his reaction. Sendak leaned down and kissed his forehead as an apology gesture.  
  
Shiro next showed Sendak how to fish on Earth.   
  
"You take this little line, and throw it out in the water", he said while showing Sendak the motions of it.   
  
"Once you get a bite, you turn this to reel it in", he said while reeling it. He handed it to Sendak, who accidentally cast it backwards, scaring some beachgoers. He and Shiro apologized and Keith looked a little worried.   
  
"Hey buddy, try not to get us sued today, ok?", he said.   
  
Sendak cast it again, this time successfully landing into the water. He sat, waiting for a bit while talking with Shiro.   
  
"Can I ask you something?", Shiro said.   
  
Sendak nodded, focusing on any movement his bob had.   
  
Shiro whispered so Keith or anyone else wouldn't hear it, "Can you tell me about your eye?"   
  
His boyfriend tensed up a little, he didn't expect that question.   
  
"Maybe later, when we're alone. Right now we need to focus on the fishing", he told him.   
  
Shiro looked slightly sad, "Sorry, if that's too personal I won't ask."   
  
Suddenly the line began bobbing, and Sendak got up and to start reeling it in.   
  
Shiro encouraged him, "You've gotta be careful, they may be stronger than you think."   
  
Sendak easily reeled it in, evidently his strength making the size of the fish irrelevant. He did end up with a respectable catch, even though he caught it with no problems.   
  
Shiro looked surprised for a moment, "I...guess you're stronger than I imagined." He posed next to his proud looking boyfriend and Keith snapped a picture with both of their phones.  
  
Once the sun started to set, Shiro sat on the part of sand where the tide came in. Sendak sat next to him and put his arm around his boyfriend. Shiro leaned into him and smiled. The bright orange sun dipping into the water, it's light decorating the water, it all was perfect to look at.   
  
"You're absolutely gorgeous in this light", Sendak told his happy partner.   
  
"I could say the same ya, big teddy bear", Shiro responded.   
  
In the light of the sunset, they looked at each other's golden faces and kissed. Keith got his phone out and took a picture of the sunset, wanting it as a background for his device. They stayed like that for a few minutes, then got up to get their stuff. Sendak realized something and went back into the water for a minute, confusing Shiro and Keith.   
  
"Dude, our stuff isn't in the water", Keith said, looking at his friend as though he were stupid.   
  
Sendak got out, dripping the liquid off his body. "I know, I just wanted to do this."   
  
He shook his body to get the water off and it went all over the protesting Keith and Shiro.   
  
"That's it, you're sleeping on the couch tonight", Shiro said.   
  
Keith smiled, "Wow, relationship problems already? That's a new record."   
  
Sendak pushed Keith to the side and grabbed his boyfriend, heaving him over his shoulder.   
  
"I'm not putting you down until you forgive me", he said to a laughing Shiro.   
  
"You're so ridiculous, I love it though. I forgive you, now put me down", he said. They went to change, Shiro parting from the other two after they got into their original outfits. They all had some preparation for later to do.  
  
   
  
  
Keith and Sendak both took showers, freshening up and getting the salt water smell off them. Keith used a special shampoo, one that smelled like strawberries, in order to give a good perfume without spending a bunch of cash. Sendak decided to wear a hoodie with the logo of the galran college he attended, which still showed his imposing figure over others. Keith kept his outfit simple, but it showed off his small, yet toned, physique nicely.   
  
"How do I look?", he asked, hoping he'd be impressed.   
  
"Scrawny", Sendak said, smirking at the joke.   
  
"Eh, better than being a hulk that trips over every little thing on Earth", Keith said, knowing he would take offense to that. Sendak grabbed Keith's hair and messed it up a little, much to Keith's annoyance.   
  
"HEY, I worked for a long time on that...", he said, annoyed that his friend ruined his cute hair.   
  
Sendak got some spit in his hand, then shaped Keith's hair to look nice again. "Feeling better now?", he said to the grump-face Keith.   
  
"Only if he doesn't think it looks stupid now. Lets go, your boyfriends waiting at his apartment."   
  
They set out from their hotel room and went to Shiro's apartment complex. They knocked and Shiro left his apartment. He had decided to wear a black shirt, which suited him.   
  
"Aw, you look so cute", Sendak said, smooching Shiro's head.   
  
"All right lovebirds, enough with the affection. It's time to have some fun", Keith said to the couple.   
  
They continued to be affectionate on the way to the bar as a way of annoying Keith, who let out a loud "AGGGHHH" in response. They laughed and stopped soon enough, for fear of Keith's wrath. They soon arrived at the bar and made their way inside.  
  
  
  
  
It was a noise of patrons, drunken shouting, and cheers anytime something good happened in a game they were watching. The small group made some heads turn, humans didn't usually see galra. Others were too occupied on their basketball game to pay attention. Sendak got a couple of whistles from some girls, making him smile a little nervously. Shiro tugged him along to the bar where they were greeted by Pidge, who smiled at their presence.   
  
"Hey! So you did come after all, good thing too, we serve the best beer in town."   
  
"Debateable", said her coworker, a tan human with short dark brown hair, that contrasted with Pidge's light brown hair.   
  
She glared at him for a moment, "Ignoring what he said, have some on the house."   
  
She handed the three their drinks, eager to know what they thought. Sendak liked the taste of it, downing it in one gulp. Shiro politely declined, he wasn't one for drinking. Keith drank it, slowly, he was afraid of getting drunk quickly before his date started. He looked around and spotted Zarkon a little further down, who looked a little bored. He was wearing a gray t-shirt and also, like Keith had asked, tight pants. He gulped a little and then grabbed Pidge's attention.   
  
"Hey pidge, slide one down to that man down there, on me", he told her.   
  
"What's the magic word, man?", she said, holding the beer just out of reach.   
  
"Please slide a beer down to that galra sitting by himself", he said with a 'you know what I meant' look on his face.   
  
She grabbed a beer and headed to Zarkon, whom she handed the beer to.   
  
"From a special guy, I think he's interested in you", she told him, motioning to Keith. Keith smiled and waved, and Zarkon smiled slightly in return. He drank the beer, then got up to meet Keith and his friends  
  
"Guys, I want you to meet Zarkon", Keith said while Sendak and Shiro shook Zarkon's hand in greeting.   
  
"A pleasure, he was pretty persistent you know?", he told them.   
  
Sendak laughed, "Yeah, once he's set his mind to something he'll work towards it regardless of succeeding or not."   
  
Keith looked annoyed and raised his eyebrow, "What do you mean, 'or not'?"   
  
Shiro quickly defused the situation, "I'm Shiro, this is my boyfriend Sendak, the one who was being rude a second ago", and he poked into Sendak's side a little harshly.   
  
"Geez, ok. Sorry about that Keith, I won't do it again", he said with his ears slightly lowered.   
  
"It's too late Sendak, I'll never forgive you", Keith said, an unforgiving look on his face. Sendak gulped in fright, but then Keith began laughing at him.   
  
"You fall for these things so easily", he told his friend, amused at his unhappy look.   
  
Keith turned to look at his date, "So, what do you wanna do? Keep together just us two, or be a party with me and my friends?"   
  
Zarkon thought for a moment, "Let's just be two people, but we can still stay close to your friends here."   
  
The two walked off a little further down the bar while Sendak and Shiro smiled.   
  
"They look nice together, don't you think?", Shiro said.   
  
"Yeah, I hope it goes well for him", Sendak said, proud that Keith had gotten to date someone.  
  
  
  
Zarkon bought Keith a beer in reparation for the one he received earlier. Keith happily accepted it, but barely drank it as he didn't want to get drunk. He was a bit of a lightweight.   
  
Zarkon cleared his throat,  "So?"  
  
Keith looked puzzled for a moment, "So what?"   
  
"How do I look?", he asked, hopeful that a good answer would follow.   
  
"You look good, very handsome", Keith said, and he took a sip of his beer.   
  
Zarkon sighed, "I wasn't sure if I dressed incorrectly from what you said."   
  
The younger galra giggled slightly, "You didn't have to actually worry about that, I wouldn't care if you didn't put on tight pants, you still would look nice."   
  
Zarkon smiled, "So you did notice them. I figured I would make the date happier by doing something the other person appreciated."   
  
Keith smiled and set his beer down, "What exactly do you appreciate?"   
  
"Reading, I like stories. While I'm here for a couple more months, I wanted to try some of Earth's literature. I didn't know you would have prior knowledge of them."   
  
Keith took another small sip of his beer. "Yeah, that book is a requirement during high school on Earth. It's setting isn't really relevant anymore, but it still holds a relevant message about hatred of people that others don't understand."   
  
Zarkon groaned, "Some of the people who tried picking me up earlier had some choice words about me being a galra once I rejected them."   
  
Keith stuttered, "Are-are you serious? They're just assholes, they don't deserve you if they decide to resort to xenophobia."   
  
His date smiled at that, and Keith went back to talking about the book.   
  
"Did you know that book was turned into a movie? It's pretty good. It's fairly old by now, but it holds up well, if you can forgive the old audio and film quality."   
  
Zarkon looked comfortable, "Are you suggesting we watch it later?", he said.   
  
"If you're feeling up to it, that is", Keith said in a flirty tone.  
  
"Fine, but I want some drinks in me first. Don't worry, I won't get drunk and slur my speech. Bartender! Two more for me and my friend here if you would."   
  
Pidge's coworker brought them their drinks, Pidge being unhappy at his approach to them.   
  
"Enjoy, might I suggest some whiskey if that doesn't quite get the job done", he said with a smirk.   
  
"Lance! Don't tell the customers what to do, leave them be", Pidge said, annoyance heavy in her speech.   
  
Lance walked off from Keith and his date to join Pidge. "Just trying to sell our product, is that so wrong?"   
  
"It's gonna be wrong once you get us fired!", she said, still annoyed while Lance chuckled.   
  
"What's the hubbub anyway? You don't get so worked up over just anyone", he said.   
  
She looked over to Sendak and Shiro for permission, "Can I tell him?"   
  
"Sure, no harm in it. It looks like they're getting along well anyways", Sendak said, observing his friends date.   
  
Pidge looked over to Lance and began to lay into him, though he was enjoying her attention, despite it being in bad circumstances.   
  
"The big deal is that the smaller person over there is a friend. He's having a good time and you might fuck it up by getting them drunk, so don't give them a ton of vodka and shit", she said with her hands on her waist.   
  
Lance raised his eyebrow and shrugged, "It's a bar, a lot of people get drunk here."   
  
Pidge sighed a put a palm on her face, "Whatever, just go serve other people besides them, I'll handle it."   
  
Lance went away and Sendak commented on Pidge and Lance's work relationship, "You two don't see eye-to-eye often do you?"   
  
"If that was a joke on my height then A.) Screw you, and B.) We don't always agree, no. But he makes me smile more often than not, so it works out well", she said.   
  
Shiro smiled, "Is there love in the air tonight or am I just crazy?", he said to the now red faced Pidge.   
  
"We're not dating, he's too dorky to date."   
  
Shiro pointed a thumb at his boyfriend, "He acted pretty dorky and I still love him."   
  
"Hey! Well you're just, just-" Sendak said, sounding offended.   
  
"Just what?"   
  
"You're too perfect to insult, damn it", Sendak said as he rubbed his boyfriend's shoulder.  
  
  
  
  
The two galra were laughing together, it was going better than either of them expected it to turn out. Keith had told him of some other notable authors, such as Mark Twain. Zarkon was more then eager to hear about the new stories from Keith.   
  
"I hadn't anticipated to talk about books with you, most people just care about me for sex appeal", he said.   
  
Keith giggled, "Well, you're a damn good looking guy, but I like getting to know someone rather than just sleeping with them."   
  
Zarkon began to get up from his seat, "I'm going to use the restroom, I'll be back and then we can head out."   
  
Keith smiled at him and drank some of his beer as he walked off. _'Lucky me',_ he thought as a reflection over the date. He sat there for a few minutes, waiting patiently for Zarkon's return so they could leave. Suddenly someone came up from behind him, rubbing his sides in way that wasn't exactly intimate.   
  
"Hey kitty, I noticed that guy left you. Bet you're feeling pretty sad now, I can make you feel better", the girl said into his ear as Keith shuddered.   
  
She started to try reaching into his shirt, but Keith got up in a huff. The girl grabbed his arm, and Keith looked back angrily. She was an unilu, and she used her other arms to hold onto him. He was absolutely disgusted by the way she was acting.   
  
"What's the matter, never seen someone with four arms before?", she said creepily.   
  
"It's not your arms, it's you being a creep, just LET. ME. GO."   
  
Keith had shouted over all the noise, and everyone else noticed, including Sendak. He began to get up to help his best friend when he noticed Zarkon coming up behind the girl, with a look of anger on him.   
  
Shiro sat Sendak back down, "Let him handle this."   
  
Zarkon put his hand on her shoulder with an uncomfortable grip.  
  
She turned to look at whoever touched her, "Get your pervy hands off me you-", and she saw the angry flames in Zarkon's eyes. She let go of Keith, but Zarkon didn't let her go.   
  
"I believe you're harassing my date. Before you speak of perverted hands you should consider not groping others yourself", he said with a coldness in his voice as he released his grip.  
  
The manager of the bar had been dragged out of his office by Pidge to intervene.   
  
"What's going on here?", he asked the three of them.   
  
"Sir, these two men just said some very uncomfortable sexual things to me", the unilu girl said in a suddenly panicked voice.   
  
"Excuse me?", said Zarkon. "You were the one feeling him up until I stopped you, you little-"  
  
The girl spoke over him, "He's lying, they said awful things and-"   
  
"I can vouch for them. I saw it happen. She was acting like a pervert", said Pidge with a livid look on her face.   
  
"I can as well, she's the liar here", said Sendak, equally as angry as Pidge.   
  
"Me too, she's trying to deflect the blame", said Shiro, shocked at the audacity of the girl.   
  
Lance jumped in as well, "I heard the whole thing. He didn't want anything to do with her and she was being an ass about it." Some bar patrons helped expose her, telling the truth of the situation.   
  
The manager looked at the girl in question with an angry look, "I'm afraid I have to ask you to leave. You're harassing my customers."   
  
The girl made an angry noise, "Whatever. You don't know a good time when it's in front of you." She then stomped her way to the exit, people not giving her the kindness of moving out of the way as she bumped through some patrons.  
  
Sendak called out after her, "Maybe he couldn't see it because you're a shitty time to other people."   
  
She slammed the door shut as the bar laughed. Everyone returned to business as usual and the chatter resumed. Zarkon smiled at her leaving and he looked at Keith, finding a sad sight. He had tears running down his face from his golden eyes, making Zarkon move to stop his crying.  
  
 "Zarkon, I'm sorry I-"   
  
"It's not your fault", Zarkon said as he hugged Keith.   
  
"I know you're probably mad at seeing someone else grab-"   
  
"It's not your fault", he rubbed Keith's shoulder.   
  
Keith tried to pull away,"I have to go, your date got ruined like this and-", Zarkon had kissed Keith to calm him down. Keith didn't expect it, shock taking his face from Zarkon's method of sympathy. Then Zarkon pulled back, wiping some tears from Keith's eyes before he spoke.   
  
"It's not your fault, it never was", he said, love in his eyes as he stared at Keith's face.   
  
Keith cried into Zarkon's t-shirt, he was glad he had someone that supported him. Sendak, Shiro, and Pidge all came over to check on the two. Sendak in particular was concerned for him, having knelt down to get a closer look before he spoke.  
  
"Hey buddy, you ok?", he asked Keith with a smile.   
  
"I'm....I'm f-feeling a bit b-better", Keith said.   
  
Pidge offered some comfort, "You're too good for the rest of us in the bar dude."   
  
Lance slowly popped up behind them, "So do you need that whiskey now or-"   
  
"Shut up Lance", Pidge said. He slowed backed away from them and went to clean a glass.   
  
Shiro smiled in hopes Keith would cry less, "If there's anything we can do to help you feel better, just ask."   
  
Keith smiled and tried to stop crying, though trying to speak was hard after what happened to him.   
  
"T-thanks you g-guys. I r-really just n-need to get over this. Z-Zarkon do you w-want to come back to my h-hotel room and watch that m-movie with me?"   
  
Zarkon smiled, "Of course I do. I would love to spend some time with you."   
  
He walked off with Keith around his arm, who sniffled over the whole ordeal still. Zarkon held him softly as they walked, speaking soft things into his ear. Lance popped up again and smiled at them walking off, unintentionally ruining the moment.   
  
"Aw, isn't that adorable? Just two-"   
  
"Shut up Lance", said the other three in unison, glaring at him to go back to work.   
  
"Ok, sorry."   
  
Sendak looked at Shiro and smiled, "I think I better stay at your apartment tonight."  
  
    
  
  
Zarkon had gotten them to the hotel room, by that point Keith had ceased his crying. He still was bummed out from the incident, his way of walking and how he was expressing himself screamed "sad" to anyone looking at him. He unlocked the door and sat on his bed, sadly sighing as he stared at his legs. Zarkon sat next to him and held him while Keith tried to think of something to say.   
  
"I....I'm sorry for crying earlier", he said.   
  
"Don't be."   
  
Keith let out a long sigh and put his head on Zarkon's arm. Zarkon wasn't sure of what to do, so he just set his hand on Keith's lap and patted it for a bit. Keith started to purr and Zarkon noticed it, happy that his potential lover was happy. Zarkon didn't know why, but he wanted to make Keith happy for as long as he could, perhaps as a relationship with him.   
  
"Do you need me to get you anything?", he asked, not knowing if Keith was in need of food, water, etc.   
  
"A drink from down the hall would be nice", Keith told him.   
  
Zarkon went to buy a water for Keith, and returned as quick as he could. He knocked on the door and Keith opened it. He looked slightly sad, but smiled from seeing how nice his date was being to him.   
  
"I got your water, let me know if you need anything else", he said, shutting the door behind him.   
  
Keith popped it open and drank some, realizing he was quite thirsty. He didn't take any breaks while downing the bottle, making Zarkon worried.   
  
"Hey, be careful, you don't wanna cough it back up do you?", he said to a water chugging Keith.   
  
Keith finished drinking it all and he set up the movie. It was available for free, any movies past a certain time period didn't cost anything rental wise. Zarkon laid back on the bed and left an arm open for Keith to snuggle into. The two were silent throughout the film, Keith leaning into Zarkon's chest the whole time. When it was over, Keith turned off the film and powered down the tv. He walked over to his bed and got back in with his date.   
  
"What did you think of it?", he asked, hoping he enjoyed the film.   
  
"I thought it was good, didn't change anything from the book really. That's a rare quality in adaptations from novels", he said.   
  
Keith smiled, "That's good, I enjoyed it too."   
  
Zarkon rubbed the smaller galra's face, "I'm glad you're feeling better, you didn't deserve that kind of treatment."   
  
Keith smiled, "I'm glad I get to spend this time with you."  
  
He continued looking at the larger galra, and his date started leaning in. Keith froze for a moment, but he closed his eyes in anticipation for the kiss. They connected well, though Zarkon took hold over the situation in regard to kissing. He enjoyed the feeling of touching his lips, kissing them in any way possible. Keith decided to spur him further, putting his hand on Zarkon's abdomen slowly rubbing it, much to Zarkon's pleasured surprise.   
  
"Are you sure you want to do this tonight? We don't have to until you want to", he said.   
  
Keith continued his rubbing and kissed Zarkon, pulling away to confirm his intention. "I want this, I want you. I like you a lot."   
  
Zarkon suddenly took Keith and flipped him over, kissing his neck once Keith was under him. Keith tried to flip him around, but Zarkon held him there while he treated his lover's skin. Keith was surprised, and surprisingly into it for the first time submitting to someone. Then Zarkon bit into Keith, not hard enough to scar but hard enough, leaving a mark while Keith screamed in pleasure.  
  
"Ahh! Sh-shit!..Fuck, you're really..", Zarkon licked at the darker wound that bled slightly, "..really good at this."   
  
Zarkon hovered over Keith, a commanding look on his face. "Tell me if I go too far, I don't want to seriously hurt you."  
  
"You're taking charge for everything I presume? I can work with that", he said, Zarkon kissing his cheek.   
  
Zarkon stopped, "For the record, I like you too, kitten."   
  
They embraced, exploring each other's bodies, loving well into the late hours. Zarkon had a lot of experience evidently, and Keith was glad for it, using each other in the best ways. When they finished, they got some towels to wipe each other of anything left afterwards than slept next to each other. Keith woke up early and got out of bed, his lover sleepily trying to keep him there. He got up and went over to the hotel balcony his room provided, and looked out over the scenery. The sun was starting to rise, and it made everything look beautiful. He smiled at the dawn, and went back to his bed. He accidentally woke Zarkon up, and he yawned. Keith made a small laugh, confusing his nightmate.   
  
"Is something funny?", he asked, groggy from the early hours.   
  
Keith rubbed Zarkon's face, "You look cute when you yawn, that's all."   
  
Zarkon smiled and pulled Keith in closer. They slept for another 2 hours, before getting up. Keith and Zarkon both showered together, and Zarkon styled Keith's furry head a certain way. Keith pulled out his phone, and texted Sendak.   
  
'Hey, date went well. Meet us for coffee?'   
  
He waited for a minute before receiving a response, 'Sure, let me lock up Shiro's apartment first. He had to work today.'   
  
Keith smiled as he typed, 'Meet us in the cafe at the hotel we're staying in.'  
  
Sendak sent an agreement back, and the plan was set. Keith dressed into his clothes and lent Zarkon some of Sendak's, due to Zarkon needing clean clothes after the shower. They were a little big on him, but otherwise fit fine.   
  
"He's not gonna be mad, is he?", Zarkon asked.   
  
"Nah. Surprised probably, but he'll understand. If he does complain, then I can shut him up. Let's get to the cafe", he said, taking Zarkon's hand and leading him out to meet up with Sendak.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading the chapter, hope you enjoyed it. Leave any suggestions or criticisms in the comments.


	4. Coffee and games

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith and Zarkon meet with Sendak, and later they have a party at Shiro's apartment that goes differently than any of them expected

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I appreciate the kudo's, thanks for reading it people.  
> 

Keith and Zarkon sat waiting for Sendak to arrive, choosing a secluded booth in the cafe for privacy. It wasn't a particularly busy day, a few customers here and there, but nothing to make the employees rush. They had held off on coffee and drank water in the meantime. Keith trained his stare at the cafe entrance, waiting for Sendak to walk through with a dumb smile, like always.  
  
"I still think he'll be ticked when he sees what you made me wear", Zarkon told him, breaking his fixation on his friends arrival.  
  
Keith smiled, "Don't worry about it, it'll be fine."  
  
Zarkon played around with his date's furry ears, "I hope so, otherwise you'll cause some damage to your friendship with him."  
  
Keith laughed a little, "Stop, that tickles. You can play with my ears another time."  
  
"You didn't seem so eager for me to stop last night", he whispered in his ear, all too eager to embarrass him.  
  
Keith's cheeks burned, and he lightly shoved his laughing lovers shoulder.  
  
"We're in public, you don't just say those things", he said quietly, a little annoyed in his tone while remaining flustered. He suddenly got licked by him, prompting more shoving from Keith.  
  
"Zarkon, I will stab you with this plastic knife. I will", he said while indeed holding a tiny plastic knife provided by the hotel. Zarkon took the top of it and snapped it off while Keith still held onto it.  
  
"That...doesn't change anything. It's sharp on the corners where it broke off!", he tried his best to give off intimidation.   
  
Zarkon plucked it out of his hand and put it into his pocket, picking up his drink to have a sip while wondering what Keith would try next.  
  
"I have my fists!", he said, raising his arms in a fighting stance.  
  
Zarkon held his arms in place, "What do you have now, kitten?"  
  
Keith grumbled, "Fine, you win this time."  
  
Zarkon released his fists and Keith lightly punched his arm, making the older galra raise an eyebrow at the violence.  
  
"Careful, or you'll get another mark on your neck."  
  
Keith laughed, "Stop it man, I said not publicleeheeeee", he was being tickled by his playful mate.  
  
"Hehahahhaaaahhaaha. S-stop it, you're go-gonna m-make me pee-heeheee", he said, struggling to pull away from him.  
  
"Need some help there with that Zarkon?", said a familiar voice. The two looked over at Sendak who had arrived, and he looked as happy as ever. He wore a one sleeved shirt, deciding that he could go without his other arm for coffee. His   
  
  
  
They ordered their drinks, going back to the booth once their coffee was ready. Zarkon wasn't sure about the taste, he didn't put anything like sugar or creamer into it, but he drank it regardless. Sendak had been told before of coffee by Keith, and he made it sweet. Sendak smiled while observing the two, they were whispering things he couldn't hear and making each other laugh.  
  
"I assume that it went well yesterday?", he asked.  
  
Keith was laughing at Zarkon's remarks, "Sorry, yes. It all went great, he was very...good to me after that whole thing happened yesterday."  
  
Zarkon opened his eyes wide, "What happened to being in public?", he accused.  
  
Keith shot back quickly, "I didn't explicitly say anything that was too obvious. But I can start if that's what-"  
  
Sendak interrupted, "Ok, ok, I know you two had some, y'know, fun. No need to go into detail."  
  
Keith made an evil smile, "Why is that Sendak? Too much of a prune to handle what I have to say? This is what happened yesterday, 'Oh Zarkon, kiss me on my gentle hand. Now let's ride off on a horse into the sunset my dearest'. Isn't that how it happened?"  
  
Zarkon nodded while holding a hand to his face, "Pretty much what happened, except you forgot when a flock of doves flew behind us when we kissed."  
  
Sendak rolled his eyes, "Har har. But I'm glad that you two took to each other so well, and..."   
  
He stopped because he noticed Keith had a mark on his neck. It wasn't a deep one, but it looked like the type you receive during sex with a galra. Generally galra marked their lovers during coitus, mostly for pleasure, other times permanently scarring with a life-bite given on the night of weddings. Some galra didn't do this, worried that later they may divorce and render the marking inaccurate.  
  
_'I wonder if Shiro would let me do that',_ he thought to himself.  
  
"What? What is it?", said his confused friend. Sendak leaned a little to get a better look, and Keith suddenly realized what he was looking at. He covered it quickly with his hand, looking to the side while Zarkon played it cool.  
  
"Is that a bite mark? Did...did he bite you?", he said with an eyebrow raised.  
  
"I......I don't know how it got there", Keith said.  
  
"Sure you don't, unless you want to explain for him?", Sendak said, turning his attention to Zarkon.  
  
"It got there because of a giant turtle", he said, never smiling, remaining serious.  
  
Keith laughed at his joke, but wondered how he knew about turtles, and for that matter, doves like he mentioned.  
  
"Why do you know about Earth's animals?"  
  
"I told you, I like reading new things. A book on your planets species just happened to be one of them."  
Keith nodded in understanding, then got back to the original topic.  
  
"Since when did you care so much about what's on my neck?", he said, frowning slightly at Sendak's invading queries.  
  
"Since yesterday, you two look good together."  
  
He moved his head to speak with Zarkon, "Did you know this is Keith's first-Ow!"  
  
Keith had thrown a salt shaker at him, mouthing 'No' with a murderous intent.  
  
Zarkon looked over at Keith, "We really need to have a talk about your violence. But his first what?"  
  
Keith was shaking his head furiously at Sendak, he was about to say something very revealing.  
  
Sendak continued on, regardless of Keith's wishes, "You're his first-"  
  
"Boyfriend", Keith interrupted.  
  
Sendak shut up and let him speak, surprised that he took hold of the situation.  
  
"You're looking to be my first serious boyfriend", he said to a surprised Zarkon.  
  
"Boyfriend? I...well, I didn't expect you to want to call me that. This seems a bit sudden", he was blushing a little.  
  
Keith sunk his face to the table, then got up to speak properly, though he didn't look at his 'boyfriend' directly.  
  
"I'm sorry, I wanted to ease you into it, go out a couple more times. It seems like somebody doesn't respect boundaries very well", he said as he glared at Sendak.  
  
Sendak apologized, "Sorry, I thought he already asked you to date him. I won't say anything else about it."  
  
Zarkon rubbed Keith's arm, "It's not a bad label, but make sure you don't rush into anything quickly before you know what you're doing. In this instance though, I'm willing to try if you are."  
  
"You're serious, not joking?", he said, looking into his purple eyes, hope in his mind.  
  
Zarkon took his hand, "I think you would know if I was joking."  
  
Sendak smiled and drank his coffee while looking at the two lovebirds, and set his drink down to speak.  
  
"It all worked out great in the end", he said, happy at the sight of their intertwined hands.   
  
Keith frowned at him again, "No thanks to you possibly pushing him away from me."  
  
He lowered his ears a little and put his hand on his neck, "Yeah, sorry about that...."  
  
Keith smiled, "I forgive you, now on to other pressing matters. What are you gonna do today now that Shiro is working?"  
  
Sendak took a sip of his coffee, coughed a bit from swallowing too fast, then cleared his throat.  
  
"He gave me a spare key to his apartment, I was gonna hang out there and clean it a little while he was gone. I thought you would be with Zarkon, doing your own thing."  
  
This gave Keith an Idea, "What if we helped you clean his apartment, then maybe he'll want to hang out later and play some games there. Would that be fine?"  
  
Sendak was unsure, "I'm not sure if he'll want to do that, but I can ask." He pulled out his phone to text his boyfriend.  
  
'Hey babe, met up with Keith. It went well for him :). They want to help me clean your place and maybe hang out later, is that ok?'  
.  
.  
  
'That's fine, just make sure they don't stay too late. I have work in the morning tomorrow, so 9:30 is the latest it can go. Invite Pidge, she was pretty nice yesterday.'  
  
Sendak smiled and typed back quickly, 'Ok, we'll make sure your house looks good. Love you <3.'  
  
'Love you too teddy bear ;)', he received, laughing silently at the wink. He put his phone away and confirmed the plans with the other two.  
  
"He said it was fine. We'll clean the place, then play some games later on. Pidge is coming over too, she gave us her contact afterwards to hang out with us."   
  
"Ohhh, Sendak's got a girlfriend", Keith said sarcastically, his friend lowering his eyebrows in annoyance.  
  
"Very funny, I'm not looking to cheat on Shiro."  
  
"Just joking around with you like always man, no need to take it seriously", said Keith, taking a sip of his mocha.  
  
"Your hair doesn't look terrible today", Sendak said, sipping his coffee in return to his equally offended friend.  
  
"I made sure it didn't look stupid for your sake obviously."  
  
Sendak chuckled, "It's usually a bit messed up, but it's styled nicely, you do it yourself?", he asked him.  
  
"I did it with a bit of help", he said, turning to his new boyfriend.  
  
Zarkon darted his eyes between the two of them, not expecting to be put in the spotlight. He gulped the rest of it down, slightly disgusted and scowling at the taste, then set the cup on the table.  
  
"For someone complaining about my teasing, you're not being very subtle with this."  
  
Keith laughed at his point, "I suppose that's true."   
  
Sendak meanwhile, finally noticed what Zarkon was wearing. It looked like a well worn shirt he packed, it even had the holes from it on the front.  
  
"Are you...wearing my shirt?"  
  
Zarkon had hoped he wouldn't notice it, "Well, the problem was that I didn't have any clothes after my shower. Keith said that your clothes would fit fine."  
  
Sendak thought about it for a moment, then shrugged it off. "No big deal, it's not the end of the universe."  
  
Keith spoke up quickly, "I kinda hoped you would whine about it, I told Zarkon I would get to shut you up."  
  
Sendak laughed, "Sorry to disappoint you Keith. I guess you won't get to show Zarkon how badly you insult someone."  
  
"It's better than him having to hear you speak whatever comes to your mind."  
  
"You're lucky you have a boyfriend sitting between me and you, otherwise it would be noogies again."  
  
Zarkon raised his eyebrow in confusion, "So do you two hate each other, because this exchange is a strange one for friends to have." They both laughed at his concern over the teasing.  
  
"It's nothing, we're always ragging on each other", Sendak said.  
  
"Yeah, just banter, nothing serious", Keith added.  
  
Zarkon shrugged, "If you say it isn't."  
  
They talked for a few minutes before getting up, talking about the town and places to go. Soon enough they finished their drinks and saw no need to stay longer. They vacated the booth, putting a few dollars into the tip jar for the good service. The three of them threw away their empty cups as they left the cafe, walking a normal pace to their destination.  
  
   
  
  
As they entered Shiro's apartment, Keith noticed the smell of it, that being sweaty galra. He noticed it being stronger in closer proximity to certain items, covering his nose in disgust at the intense stench.  
  
"Sendak, you didn't 'imprint' on Shiro's apartment did you?"  
  
"What? Oh no, I didn't pee on anything. I did, however, rub some of his things in my pits."  
  
Keith got wide-eyed at those words, "Sendak, earth folk don't like bad smells, even if they're from someone you love", he said to a now dumbfounded Sendak.  
  
"You-you mean he won't like my sweat?" Keith shook his head and reassured the truth. Sendak suddenly grabbed several things, such as pictures and cushions, and frantically ran around looking for something to clean them with. His face showed fear, he didn't know how Shiro would react to things like pictures being irreparably drowned in galra smell.  
  
"Shitshitshitshitshit", he said, zooming past a laughing Keith and Zarkon.  
  
Zarkon murmured to Keith, "How long have they been dating?"  
  
He answered quietly, "About 3 days now, too soon for scenting if that's what you meant."  
  
"I think it's too late. They have to scent immediately or it's not real. Personally I would take my lover's shirts and ruin them all with my pits."  
  
Keith blinked a few times, processing it.  
  
"You're not serious, are you?", he said, worry in his voice. Zarkon laughed while Keith was kept wondering if his shirts had a bad future ahead. Moving past that, he decided to ease his panicked friend. He extended a hand forward to stop him, and made him calm down.  
  
"Where's your bathroom? I know how to fix this."  
  
Sendak let him to the bathroom and Keith grabbed a spray bottle from under the sink.  
  
"Spray some of this on a rag. Then I want you to LIGHTLY rub it on what you scented, I know you may get overly zealous in your need to clean", he said to a happy Sendak.   
  
Keith found the closet and brought the vacuum out of it. He put it into Zarkon's hands and then plugged it in. Once he turned it on, all hell broke loose. Sendak yelped and hid behind Shiro's chair, focusing his attention on staying the hell away from the screeching noise of it. Zarkon dropped the screaming machine and rushed into the bathroom, locking the door behind him.  
  
"It's just a vacuum you babies", Keith said, his face displeased at their fear of a tiny thing like that.  
  
"That thing is gonna kill us!", Sendak shouted, brave enough to point a finger at it. Keith turned it in his direction, making him cower out of it's 'view'. Then he went to knock on the bathroom door, hearing a whimper in response.  
  
"Hey, Mr. 'Scary as I am cute', you gonna come out?", he asked the door.  
  
"NO!", the voice through the door shouted.  
  
Keith sighed and began moving the vacuum over the carpet, getting any bits and pieces of crumbs or dirt off of it. He thought about how Sendak practically lived there now, and how soon enough the carpet would be hairy as if Shiro kept a pet. He vacuumed for another 15 minutes, Sendak slightly shivering every time Keith got near, until he finished making the floor spic-and-span. Sendak and Zarkon both slowly came out of their hiding spots once they heard it being powered down. He pulled the plug from the wall and waved it at the two, making them shake a bit. He pushed it into the closet and turned to the galra that were still slightly upset.  
  
"I'm severely disappointed that two fully grown galra, especially as big as the both of you are, got scared of a vacuum", he said with his arms crossed.  
  
He made Zarkon do the dishes and sent Sendak "to his room", this being Shiro's bedroom in actuality. Keith knew it was just to clean it, but couldn't resist the opportunity of saying that to his friend. Sendak began making the bed that he and Shiro had slept in. So far, they had merely laid next to each other, the closest thing to sex was kissing each other, but they hadn't gone over that line yet.   
  
Keith popped his head through the door-frame and looked at the wrinkled sheets, "Had some fun yourself last night?"  
  
Sendak turned around and smiled, "The funny thing is, that's none of your business", and he replaced his smile with a smug grin.  
  
"That's strange, you were asking about my bite mark earlier when that didn't need asking."  
  
"You're never gonna let me live that down are you?", Sendak said as he spread the blanket over the bed.  
  
"Not a chance", he replied, leaving to check on Zarkon.  
  
Zarkon was very good at washing the dishes, the grime easily came off in the face of his strength. It was a struggle for him to put them up to dry, however. It seemed humans had a different system of drying dishes than Galra did. Galra dish drying systems had an instant drier that put them up in a designated spot after they were finished drying. Zarkon just made a pile of wet dishes in lieu of that, one on top of the other in the dish rack.  
  
Keith noticed it, "Why are you stacking wet plates and bowls on each other? They'll never get dry like that."  
  
He began everything as they should've been into the rack. Zarkon suddenly understood why there were cracks in the rack,  letting out an "Ooohhhh."  
  
"Oh indeed", said Keith as he finished correcting Zarkon's dish pile.  
  
"What would I do without you, kitten?"  
  
Keith laughed, "I'm not sure, it seems I have to teach you two everything, 'turtle'."  
  
He raised an eyebrow at that comment, "Is that my name now?"  
  
"You said it yourself earlier, I was bitten by a giant turtle. You also have a turtle mouth, but I don't judge it, it's cute", he told Zarkon.  
  
"How cute is my mouth?", Zarkon said, leaning in for a kiss.  
  
Keith gave him a quick smooch, "Pretty cute. Now finish the dishes so Shiro doesn't have to worry about them, turtle."  
  
Sendak came out of the bedroom and Keith immediately gave him a duster.  
  
"Run this over any place that looks like it's dirty. I don't wanna see anything that is less than dust free, so look carefully. I'll try and finish de-scenting the things you imprinted on in the meantime." Sendak nodded and went to work on everything.  
  
As keith worked, his curiosity got the better of him. He sniffed a pillow and went back from it in disgust, nearly dropping it to get it far away from him.  
  
"Extra spray for you it seems", he said to the smelly pillow, putting lavender-smell all over it until it wasn't terribly bad with Sendak's scent.  
  
Zarkon soon finished the dishes and Keith sat him down to help with the de-scenting. He was about to bring it up to his face, but Keith warned him off for his own good.  
  
"Don't sniff it, the curiosity isn't worth it."  
  
"Aw c'mon, I can't smell that bad, can I?", Sendak said as he dusted nearby.  
  
"There's sweat and then there's galra sweat, and we both know which is worse in this situation", he said, spraying a picture frame and wiping the lavender smell all over. "You really need to put on deodorant more, now that I'm getting to know your bad smells a little too well", he was rubbing the rag a little hard on a persistent spot of stink.  
  
Sendak turned his head, "I'm gonna go without it just for you, so you can suffer."  
  
"You'll be suffering once Shiro kicks you out until you smell better."  
  
Sendak suddenly sneezed from dusting, letting out a sound that can be described as 'cute'. Zarkon and Keith stopped everything, being silent for a moment. Keith started giggling a little, Zarkon joining in as his laughs grew. Soon they were both howling with laughter. Sendak was usually imposing, but now he was grumbling at their amusement.  
  
"It-it's not that funny, come on you two..", he said to them.  
  
"But it's so adorable, wait till Shiro gets home and we tell him", said Keith.  
  
Sendak came over and dusted his face, making him let out a normal sneeze, prompting Sendak to do some let down pouting.  
  
"What was that for?", he said, glaring at his friend.  
  
"I thought you would make a funny sound..", Sendak said, dejectedly walking back to his chore.  
  
"I'm half galra, that doesn't mean I can't sneeze like a human would. I can purr and growl, but not everything I am is like a space cat", Keith told him.  
  
Sendak turned away from his dusting, "Space cat? Wooow man, way to generalize us galra."  
  
He rolled his eyes at his friends offense, "Forgive me for being space racist."  
  
Zarkon corrected him, "You mean xenophobic?"  
  
He let out a sigh, "Yes, that's what I mean." They laughed and continued cleaning.  
  
   
  
Soon they were finished, and the apartment looked very clean. Most importantly, it didn't reek like a galran locker room after a game.  
  
"This looks good", Keith declared.  
  
"Great, I'll send Pidge a text to let her know", Sendak said, pulling his phone from his pants.  
  
'Hey pidge, we're having a party game hangout thing tonight. Wanna come?'  
  
'Sure, I'm bringing my coworker though. Is that a problem?'  
  
He smirked at who he thought it was, 'You mean Lance? Sounds like somebody's got a date tonight ;)'  
  
'WE'RE NOT DATING >:(. He just wanted to try and hang out with me so I accepted'  
  
'And I'm not dating Shiro, we're just very close friends'  
  
'whatever. see you when we get there, and I'm bringing a console to play smash'   
  
Sendak was confused, "What's smash?", he asked Keith.  
  
Keith's mind took his question differently, "In what context?"  
  
"Pidge said she was bring a console to play 'smash'."   
  
Keith realized what he meant, "Oh, that smash. It's a fighting game, pretty fun."   
  
"Thanks, also Pidge is bringing a guest. You won't believe who it is."   
  
Keith was curious, "Is she bringing someone new? Or just someone we wouldn't expect her to bring?", he asked, wanting to know immediately.   
  
"You'll find out when they arrive, mr. inquisitive."

Keith and Zarkon both kept guessing at who is could be before Pidge arrived. 20 minutes later, they got their answer. Pidge walked in holding the console and smiled. The group smiled back when suddenly Lance walked in behind her, prompting a 'what' look from Keith and Zarkon.   
  
Lance held up a dice container, "Guess who brought farkle to the party? This guy did."   
  
Pidge groaned, "He insisted on bringing it, I always get confused when I play it."   
  
"What's so bad about it?", he said, raising his hand in annoyance.   
  
"It's not as good when compared to smash bros. dude", she said.   
  
Lance sighed and put his game on the counter, muttering to himself. "Stupid better game..."

  
It seemed that the "better game" was not suited for regular galra, at least not galra of Zarkon and Sendak's size. They both were confused and frustrated at the controls, even more angry with the controllers, which were evidently small for them. Keith had no trouble using it, his hands appeared galra but they were human size. He laughed as he repeatedly killed them, their struggling intensifying when they came close to getting the hang of it before getting K.O.ed.   
  
"These controllers are just...DAMN IT. Pidge, I can't use this thing!", Sendak said, shouting as his character fell off the stage yet again.   
  
"Eh heh", she nervously laughed while making a 'sorry' face. Suddenly they heard the door opening, Shiro walked in with some groceries. At this point in the day, it was 6:30 PM. He set down the bags, and went to talk to his guests.   
  
"Hey everybody. Pidge, I see you brought...Lance over?", he hadn't expected her to hang out with him.   
  
"Rrrggghh, Why is everybody surprised that I'm here?", he said, a bit tired of the treatment he'd been getting. Sendak took the opportunity to get up and power down the console, Pidge angry at the sore losers antics.   
  
"I was winning that match you fuzzy jerk!", she said to him.   
  
"Yeah, yeah, you had the advantage of human thumbs", he quipped.   
  
Lance suddenly got a large grin, "Does this mean it's time for....", he got up and grabbed the dice, "a farkle party?"   
  
Pidge sighed, "Fine, not everyone could enjoy my game like I thought they would."  
  
  
Since Shiro had bought frozen Pizza (even one with bacon to Sendak's delight), they sat around the coffee table to play the game Lance had brought. It wouldn't take long for the pizza to bake, but he insisted that the game would be done quickly. He explained the rules, and then made a special one for the evening.   
  
"This game, is a duo game. You're not just playing for yourself, you're playing as if your game partner's life depended on it", he said with a mock serious voice.   
  
Pidge spoke up, "Wow Lance, I think I can see where this is going. Since you're so smart for making it a couple's game, I pick.......Zarkon."   
  
Everyone besides Lance and Keith laughed, and Pidge got up to sit next to him.   
  
Keith whined, "But he's not your boyfriend....."   
  
"Since when was this romantic?", she said, sitting where Keith should've been.   
  
"Fine, Lance you're with me", he said, the both of them not very happy to end up with each other. Sendak on the other hand, was very happy he ended up with Shiro. They looked at the rest of the group, and laughed with each other.   
  
"Yeah, yeah, get it out of your system you overgrown hulk", said Keith.   
  
Lance remained annoyed, "I didn't expect to end up with mullet here."   
  
Keith looked at him with an eyebrow raised, "I'm sorry, 'mullet'? Is that my name now?"   
  
Lance smirked, "Yeah, y'know, cause of your hair."   
  
Pidge let out a small laugh, as well as Zarkon. As much as Keith hated his new identity, it suited him well.   
  
"What exactly are you laughing at, other overgrown hulk?", he said to his boyfriend.   
  
"Nothing, I just never really noticed your hair before he pointed it out. You wear it well, your hair", and he winked at him.   
  
"....You're lucky that compliment saved you from a verbal assault", Keith said, blushing at the kindness.  
  
They began the game with Sendak and Shiro immediately getting a 3000 point combo. They high fived and rolled again, gaining 400 additional points. They passed it on to Keith and Lance, who got a respectable 1500. When it was passed onto Pidge and Zarkon, they got a measly 200 points, which was then lost on an attempt at a better roll. Sendak and Shiro competed closely with Keith and Lance, meanwhile Pidge and Zarkon suffered. It was a close game, until Keith and Lance broke 10,000 points.   
  
"Yeahyuh, beat that people. Keith is the best game partner, ya'll didn't even try", Lance said somewhat obnoxiously.   
  
"Not so fast, if I remember correctly, we get a shot to catch up", said Shiro. They rolled the dice and went just over Keith and Lance's winning score.   
  
"Yessss", he said, hugging Sendak.   
  
"Wait", said Pidge. Everyone, even Zarkon, looked at her in confusion.   
  
"We have 2,150 points, but we can still bring it up if our luck is just right", she said.   
  
Everyone else scoffed at her thinking, minus Zarkon, but soon lost their smiles. It started out as usual, them getting small points like usual, but soon she started getting better combos. In combination with doubling the value of some rolls, their score quickly rose up over everyone. It all added up to 15,700 points once she decided to stop.   
  
"But....but that's just not....", said Keith, whose eyes were twitching along with Lance's.   
  
Shiro's eyes kept blinking while Sendak stared in disbelief.   
  
"How....just how....", he said, rubbing his head.   
  
"That's how you beat the game, bitches", she said. She high-fived her partner and did a little victory dance.   
  
She then looked at Lance with a smug face, "So, Lance, about Keith being the best partner. Sure you don't wanna trade for Zarkon?"   
  
Lance looked a little unhappy, but then smiled. "Nah, I'll put Keith with Zarkon and you over here. You probably had all the luck so I could use it."   
  
"You're just saying that so I don't feel so gloaty", she said to him. Lance smiled and raised an eyebrow at her.  
  
Their pizza was finished baking at this point and everyone ate it happily, even Zarkon. He wasn't sure about it at first, but he liked the bacon on it.   
  
"This is better than I expected it to be for Earth food", he said as Keith got hurt a little by his statement.   
  
"What's wrong with Earth food dude?", he said, defending his birth-planets delicacies.   
  
"The 'coffee', if I recall correctly that being it's name, was very bitter."   
  
"You could've sweetened it up to make it taste less bitter...", Keith said.   
  
Sendak meanwhile, was purring while eating his bacon pizza slice. It seemed Shiro was correct about the food, the meat in combination with everything else was heavenly to his taste buds. He didn't eat it quickly though, preferring to savor it this time around  
  
Shiro rubbed his arm, "Glad you like it teddy bear."   
  
Sendak smiled and finished the slice, "I *gulp* love you so much for this", and he kissed Shiro's forehead.   
  
Pidge wasn't eating much of it, she was wary of fat foods. Keith seemed to be having the same problem as Sendak, sauce getting on his fur which then had to be wiped off by his boyfriend. Lance was struggling to eat his slice without the cheese sliding off the entire dough piece.   
  
"My pizzzaaaaaaa....", he whined as sauce got on his shirt.   
  
"Gonna complain like that every time I hang out with you?", Pidge said.   
  
"Only when you're in the room with me", he shot back.   
  
"It's a shame, you were almost tolerable until now."   
  
Lance smirked, "You were almost nice to me tonight, too bad we have to argue like this."   
  
"So are you two gonna date each other or what?", said Keith, jumping into their fake fighting to say what everyone else was thinking. Lance and Pidge both became flustered, and everyone else laughed.  
  
"She's not my girlfriend! We're just hanging out with each other tonight is all...", Lance said.   
  
Pidge agreed, "Yeah, there couldn't be anything between us."   
  
He looked a little hurt by her comment, "Wow Pidge, what would be wrong with dating me?"   
  
"I just- We're too different to date. You're pretty sarcastic about everything and I'm chill with people. You like farkle and I like smash. You like others and I like...."   
  
Lance questioned her, "Who do you like?"   
  
Pidge looked away at the ceiling, "Nothing, I like who I like, it's not your business."   
  
Lance frowned, "Fine, guess I won't know your mystery crush then."   
  
 _'All the better, he would never let me forget it if he found out I was crushing on him',_ she thought to herself.   
  
Lance got a sudden idea in his head, a sort of nasty thought. If Pidge wasn't going to tell him normally, she would have to say it eventually when someone asks about it. He wouldn't immediately ask her the question, he would wait until near the end of it.   
  
"I know what to play, a nice game called truth or dare", he said to the group.   
  
Pidge, Keith, and Shiro looked surprised at the suggestion.   
  
Keith cleared his throat to speak, "*cough*, I don't really know if that's a great thing for Sendak and Zarkon. They don't really know all Earth games."   
  
Lance opened his mouth to eagerly explain, "You go around in turns and ask someone to tell the truth when you ask them a question. Alternatively you can dare them to do something, usually something they're not willing to do. Now everyone knows even if they didn't know or they forgot it."   
  
Shiro didn't seem eager to play it, "I don't know if it's a great idea, I've played before and people can get very personal. This is more of a high school type of game."   
  
Sendak protested, "C'mon Shiro, this could be fun. I wanna try it out."   
  
Shiro relented, "...Fine. But I'm not doing any truth's, ok?". Everyone agreed to play, even with Shiro's rule in place.  
  
   
It began with Zarkon, who dared Keith to take a down a bottle of beer from Shiro's fridge, in one gulp.   
  
"You bastard, you're gonna get me drunk before the fun starts", he said, getting up to find the bottle. He eyed the pack, grabbing a beer and beginning to drink it down quickly, to the encouragement of the group.   
  
Keith finished and they cheered, "That's one down, hopefully no more."   
  
Keith looked at Shiro and did a dare, "Shiro, pick up that pillow and sniff it. Not just a regular sniff, as if you're looking for a particular smell."   
  
Sendak suddenly looked nervous, the pillow was one of them that had been de-scented earlier.   
  
Shiro smelled it, "I'm just smelling a lot of laven-wait. What is that?"   
  
He sniffed it closer and made a disgusted face, "Ugh, why does that smell so bad?"   
  
Sendak looked even more nervous, "That's odd, isn't it, honey."   
  
Shiro raised an eyebrow at him, he was hiding something. "Sendak, truth. Why does this pillow smell odd?", he said with a hard stare.   
  
Sendak laughed a little nervously, "Well, you see, galra like to do this thing where they scent things in their lover's abode."   
  
Shiro looked shocked at his remark and was forming a slow frown.   
  
Sendak tried to fix it, "B-but don't worry, I didn't pee on anything. It's just sweat from my pits."   
  
Pidge and Lance laughed, with Pidge saying "You gonna imprint his socks as well?". Sendak paid no mind to them, Shiro's anger took priority over anything else at the moment.   
  
"You're telling me you took this pillow, and put it under your arms? Getting your sweat all over it? I hope for your sake you didn't do this to anything else", he said annoyedly to him.   
  
Sendak lowered his ears a little, "Well, funny thing about that. Galra will scent a lot of things to establish their smell for their lover sooo.....that may not be the only, uh, thing I got sweaty?"   
  
Shiro smiled and blinked a few times, "We'll talk about this later, when no one can hear what's happening."   
  
Sendak gulped a little and glared at Keith, "Thanks a lot, 'friend'."   
  
Keith shrugged, "I thought it would be funny, oh well."  
  
Sendak initially wanted to get back at him, but he picked Pidge to find out who she liked. If he was correct in his guessing, her guest wasn't just a good friend.  
  
"Pidge, truth. Who do you like that Lance doesn't know about?", he said to her. She looked offended at Sendak, who was laughing as silent as he could.   
  
"You can't make me just-fine. It's one of my coworkers, of which I have around 4 so it could be any of them", she said, and she stuck her tongue out at him.   
  
Shiro stopped Sendak's laughing and quietly scolded him, "Don't ask those kinds of questions, it's rude."   
  
Sendak was surprised, he thought the game was meant to be that way, but he listened to his boyfriend nonetheless.   
  
Pidge looked at Lance, "Lance, dare. You have to go out in the hallway and scream "I'm wearing panties" as loud as you can. Leave the door open and stay within our sight, I wanna see this happen."   
  
Lance got up, somewhat unwillingly and went out in the hallway. Everyone else stood up to get a good view of it.   
  
"I'm-I'm-Pidge I don't really have to say this do I?", lance asked her.

"You don't have to, but I could lock you out if you don't", she said with a smirk.   
  
"Fine. I'm wearing panties", he said casually.   
  
"WHAT LANCE? WHAT DID YOU WANNA SAY AS LOUD AS YOU COULD TO ME?"   
  
Lance breathed in deeply, then shouted "I'M WEARING PANTIES." At that moment, a janitor was walking by and looked at him for a second, then shook his head and kept walking. Lance walked back in and everyone laughed besides him.   
  
"All right Pidge, you wanna play dirty? I want a truth from you. WHO is the coworker you like? No dodging, I want specific names", he said to her, eager to know now, impatient too wait until the game came closer to a natural end.   
  
Pidge wasn't prepared for that question, at least not from Lance. "Can-can I say something else please?"   
  
"Ah ah, once asked, you must answer. Think of this as something to just tease you about. I won't tell anyone else who doesn't need to be told, and everyone else here will respect your intent to not be public with it."  
  
Pidge couldn't argue with him about it, the rules were the rules. She could've gotten up and left without saying anything, but she decided to come clean.   
  
"I like...I like...", she couldn't say it.   
  
Lance goaded her on, "Well, tell us Pidge. We're all waiting." The truth of that was little, everyone else looked slightly uncomfortable, even Sendak who had earlier asked her something similar, which he seemed to be regretting now.   
  
"I like........................you", Pidge said, not even looking at him directly.   
  
Lance's reaction was of shock, then joy. He didn't realize she was interested in him.   
  
"I knew it! You liiiike me, you liiiike-", he stopped to look at Pidge, who looked down onto the floor, tears going down her face.   
  
He tried to apologize, "Pidge, I shouldn't tease you about it, I-Pidge? Wait!" She had gotten up and grabbed her things, then left the apartment quickly, looking forward and ignoring anyone else. In her mind, they were probably all thinking of how idiotic it was for her to crush on Lance.   
  
Lance sighed, disappointed in himself, "I shouldn't have started this stupid game, I just wanted to tease her about her crush. Fucking SHIT!", he hit himself as hard as he could.   
  
Sendak tried to calm him down, "I asked about it too, I should take some of the blame."   
  
Lance got angry with him, "Yeah, why DID you ask about it? You barely know Pidge, and you're asking her these things as if it's your business when it hardly is at all!"   
  
Sendak became angry himself and shouted back, "You're the one who asked her the name of her crush! It's not my fault you pushed her over the edge!"   
  
Lance got up and so did Sendak, they went towards each other ready to fight to the death.   
  
"You hairy, smelly piece of-"   
  
"You scrawny little ass-"   
  
Shiro stepped in between them and forcibly made them back away from each other.   
  
"That's enough! You two can both find Pidge and apologize to her, and I won't have any more arguing in my apartment. You both screwed up here, don't place the blame on one person", he said, yelling at them both.   
  
Shiro pushed them out of the apartment, Sendak slightly protesting, "Shiro, wait I'm sor-", the door was shut in his face.  
  
Shiro apologized to Keith and Zarkon, "I don't yell often, sorry. Do you two still wanna hang out or just go ahead and go?"   
  
Keith shook his head sadly, "After all that, I think this hangout is officially dead. Sorry Shiro, I would've liked to stay a little longer", Keith said in a disappointed tone. He got up along with Zarkon and headed to the apartment door. Shiro waved goodbye as they left the apartment.   
  
He walked into his living room and swore to himself, "Goddamnit, I knew that stupid game would ruin the party."   
  
\-----------  
  
As Keith and Zarkon walked, they decided where to go next.   
  
"We can head back to my condo, I've rented one for the duration of my vacation", Zarkon said.   
  
Keith was surprised, "A condo huh? Those aren't exactly cheap, how did you manage one of those?"   
  
Zarkon smiled, "It helps to work with the galran military on new equipment."   
  
Keith's eyes widened, "You're joking, you don't invent things for the military."   
  
Zarkon pulled his phone out and displayed his bank account, which showed his money in a very good amount. Keith hadn't come even a tenth close to that much in his salary.   
  
"I told you earlier, you would know if I was or not", he said as he put his phone away.   
  
Keith felt lucky, "Damn, is that why you didn't want to go on a date with me initially?", he said to his larger boyfriend, hugging his arm.   
  
"Yes, though I also was getting tired of being bothered. A lot of people try to date me for my money, recognizing me and all, but I keep it in my control. This won't change anything between us, will it?", he asked.   
  
"Doesn't matter to me, your money is yours to do what you want with", Keith said. He became sad and leaned into his larger boyfriend, "I hope everyone else is all right.." Zarkon held Keith with one arm as they walked, and they continued to their destination.  
  
Meanwhile Sendak and Lance were looking for Pidge, her departure worrying them both, Lance especially. They both didn't look at each other, still mad from saying rude things to one another.   
  
"Piiiidge, are you out there?", Sendak said.   
  
"Pidge, it's me, the idiot. C'mon, that had to have gotten a laugh...", Lance said to the hopefully close Pidge.   
  
They heard a sniffling nearby, and moved to find out who made that sound. Luckily it was her, she was sitting on the curb, crying to herself.   
  
"Pidge!", Lance shouted to her.   
  
She noticed and got up, running from them. Lance caught up and put his hand on her shoulder, "Pidge I-"   
  
*SMACK*   
  
He had gotten slapped, hard, by Pidge.   
  
"First you treat my personal interests as a joke, and-and then you have the audacity to touch me? You're not an idiot, you're a hopeless dumbass", she told a cheek rubbing Lance.   
  
"And you", she said, focusing on Sendak. "I don't know what the HELL you were thinking when you started getting people to think about who I crushed on. You may as well have encouraged anybody to have asked who I liked!"  
  
Sendak frowned and his ears were all the way down, he didn't know she would get so angry over this.   
  
"Pidge I really do regret asking you that", he told her, sadness in his voice.   
  
Pidge laughed mid-cry, "Oh-hoh, you regret it NOW? Well that fixes it completely! 'I know now that humiliating other people with their secrets is wrong', aren't you just a perfect asswipe."   
  
Lance got up and apologized, "Pidge, I'm sorry. I didn't need to ask you that before you were ready to say it."   
  
Pidge looked at him angrily with tears running down her face. "You're just the same as him, you just do something as you think of it without paying attention to consequences. I don't wanna see you. Or you, Sendak. You're both dickwads that turned me into a joke."   
  
She walked off to where she lived, Lance sighing sadly as she did. Sendak let out a sad whine, with Lance noticing.   
  
"We're both idiots, there's no changing that. I'm gonna head home Sendak, you can just tell them that's where I went", Lance said, walking off to think about what he'd done. Sendak braced himself for Shiro's rage while he walked back to his boyfriend's home.  
  
  
  
Sendak was a bit ill-prepared, but otherwise ready for Shiro's anger once he knocked on the apartment door. Shiro opened the door, looking annoyed.   
  
"In, then sit", he said to him in a quiet but angry tone. Sendak nervously walked in then sat down on the couch. Shiro was tapping his foot in impatience, frowning more and more by the second.   
  
Sendak gulped a little, "What-what is it?"   
  
Shiro took in a deep breath, "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"   
  
Sendak didn't say anything for 30 seconds, then Shiro said "WELL?" quite loudly.   
  
Sendak stuttered for a moment, "Look, I-I know that I messed up and that's-"   
  
"Ahbupbupbup. 'Messed up' is a gross understatement, a more appropriate phrase would be "Fucking it up", and you fucked up enough in this sense."   
  
"I'm sorry, I thought it was part of the game..."   
  
Shiro put a palm on his face, and began pacing. Sendak didn't say anything, fearful of being reprimanded harshly.  
  
"This is why I didn't want to play it, because sometimes someone decides it's perfectly ok to make someone uncomfortable by asking invasive questions. The point of the game is to make others do funny things, or ask them simple truths that don't go too far, but you decided to help ruin it by making Lance think of Pidge's crush."   
  
"I didn't mean to-I thought no one would ask about it farther than I did or Pidge would just refuse to answer!", Sendak shouted out in desperation.   
  
Shiro sighed, "But you didn't know, you can't predict the future here, none of us can. And now Pidge revealed something that no one needed to know about her because of it." He looked at Sendak with disappointed eyes, "I would've forgiven you for the scenting, but this is gonna take some time to get over."   
  
Sendak got up and walked towards Shiro, about to put his hand on him when Shiro stopped it.   
  
"Don't, just don't. You need to sleep in your hotel room tonight, I just want to be alone right now", Shiro said.   
  
Sendak was hurt, "Babe...", he sadly said, but Shiro looked to the side, glaring at the wall. He went to the door and opened it, motioning his boyfriend to leave. He left, making a sad sound as he walked off to the hotel room.   
  
He got out his phone and texted Keith, 'Hey, I'm heading back to the hotel room after all that.' He waited for a response from Keith. He walked and listened for the text sound, but it never came. He double checked to make sure, no response from Keith. Did anyone want to talk to him after what he'd done? Out of hope, he started to try and text Pidge.   
  
'I'm sorry about tonight, I was an asshole. I hope you can forgive me'. He hit send, but was stopped from doing so.   
  
' **You have been blocked by this user for any contact purposes** '   
  
Sendak frowned and glared at the phone, breathing through his nose. Pidge really didn't want anything to do with him anymore, understandable but still hurtful.   
  
"Gods, damn it all", he said to himself. He finally reached the hotel and made his way up to the room he rented, unlocking it's door. He went inside and slammed the hotel door, shaking the room. He sat down on the bed, and tears ran down his face. "I hate that I do this, I hate being alone...........", he said to the room. No one could hear him or comfort him, and he truly felt isolated. He lied on the bed, the pillow catching his tears, and he thought about Shiro not being there. He longed to hold him in his embrace, imagining his face being gripped softly. He suddenly heard a notification from his phone, indicating a text. It was from Keith, and he wiped his eyes before opening the message.  
  
'Ok dude, I'm at Zarkon's condo. Didn't mean to take so long to respond, but I won't be there tonight sorry :/'. Sendak smiled a little, at least his friend still talked to him.   
  
'That's ok. I'm gonna spend some time alone anyways. I need to find a way to fix this'. He waited for the response eagerly, he needed to talk to someone.   
  
'I understand man, it's not gonna be easy to mend what happened, but I hope it goes well for you. I wish we hadn't played that game :('   
  
'Yeah, Pidge didn't deserve that, I was an ass and I want to fix it :I. I'll talk to you tomorrow, ok?', he sent to his friend, smiling a little more. He received a good night message in return, and then went to his bed. He pulled the blanket over himself, and tried to fit onto his bed as best he could. Even though it was a small bed, he wished Shiro could've been there to snuggle in with. Shiro, who he wondered even liked him after what Sendak pulled.  
  
Pidge was in her home, crying to herself about the night. In his house, Lance was taking a shower but didn't really wash himself, he just thought about the night. Keith and Zarkon were in his condo, comfortably close to each other in sleep. Shiro was outside of his apartment, looking out on the horizon wondering how it all could go so wrong so quickly. And Sendak slept somewhat badly, still angry at himself for what had been said and done. They all braced themselves for the new day that was inching closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Same message as last time, just leave any criticisms in the comments.


	5. The mending of relationships

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance tries to fix Pidge's view of him, with unexpected results. Sendak also tries to amend things, then has a talk with Shiro about the party. Finally, Keith and Zarkon get a day to themselves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing is a fickle thing, suddenly you have ideas and then you're stuck at a wall. Sorry this took a long time, but here's the chapter.  
> EDIT: Indenting again, will begin again later bleh.

Lance woke up in his little home, wondering if the previous day was only a dream. He checked his phone and tried to text Pidge, but it told him the same thing that a certain galra received as well. He blew air up to his hair,  _'Why do I have to open my big mouth...',_ he thought. To get his mind off that, he took a cold shower to distract himself. The freezing temperature briefly distracted him, nothing could stop him from recalling the previous night. He made the water slightly warmer as he soaped his hair, thinking of how sad he had made Pidge. It was even worse for him, he liked her too, but undoubtedly she no longer liked him. Turning off the water after he washed everything, he dried off and ate a poptart without toasting it. From there he decided to take a walk outside, it was around 10:30.  
  
"Same coastal town, different atmosphere, for me at least", he said to himself as he went along the sidewalk. There wasn't much else to do, so he grabbed his phone to text his best friend, Hunk.  
  
'Yo, Mr. engineer, what's going on today?'  
  
Within a minute, he received a response, 'Hey man, not much is happening right now, just the usual things. What's happened with you?'.  
  
Lance smiled then frowned a bit, knowing he would have to talk about the game with his closest friend, how he had somewhat forced Pidge to reveal a very private matter.  
  
'Remember how I have that crush on Pidge? I made her reveal who she liked in a game of truth or dare. She really didn't want to do that, and I think I hurt her badly...'   
  
'Wow man, that sucks. I hope she can forgive you for that, but why did you even ask in the first place?'  
  
Lance sighed, somewhat unwillingly saying why in his explanation.  
  
'I wanted to know about it man, but I didn't realize that I was being a dick initially. Do you know how to fix this?'   
  
'I'm not siding against you, but this is your problem. If you really want to get her forgiveness, then try to make sure that you do it by yourself. You should come clean about your feelings, I can't talk Pidge into forgiving you. Especially when I don't even know the whole story, not that I need to. Pidge's crush is her knowledge, not mine.'  
  
Lance looked at his phone in disbelief,  _'What the hell is he thinking? Telling Pidge I like her too, like she'll believe that',_ he thought to himself.  
  
He quickly typed back to him, 'I'm nervous about it, plus she doesn't want to talk to me! She blocked me from all contact, man'  
  
'Look, talking to someone physically is a thing. The one piece of advice about this I'll say, is that it's better to apologize in person rather than digitally. That's all for now, I'm not responding to anymore texts from you for the rest of the day while you make up with her'   
  
He became somewhat nervous when he saw the words, "talking to someone physically."  _'Damn it Hunk, why do you always have to be right?',_ his mind said. Lance decided "fuck it", and started towards her home, he'd seen it from walking with Pidge before, purely platonic of course. He was sprinting and taking frequent breaks, normal for anyone who didn't practice often. Despite his lungs feeling like hell, he made it to her home, struggling to breath while he went up her steps, wiping sweat from his forehead.  
  
"Need...to exercise....more often...hooooo boy."   
  
He knocked on her door, and waited for a minute. He saw her look through the door window and frown, while he nervously smiled. She backed away and Lance stood there for 30 seconds, suddenly realizing that she had walked off. He knocked repeatedly on her door for 5 minutes, until she came and opened it. She looked incredibly annoyed at him. Lance smiled, looking a little scared but hoping she wouldn't leave again.  
  
"Hey, thanks for-"  
  
*SLAM*  
  
Pidge left again, making it known to him and the world around her that she was fed up with him. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then began knocking on her door again. She opened it, looking angry.  
  
"WHAT?!?!"  
  
Lance began speaking, "Just let me-OW", his foot got caught in the door as Pidge tried to close it again.  
  
Lance was struggling to keep from screaming as tears went from his eyes due to the pain of the door hitting his foot. He held his foot in one hand and hopped around, while Pidge watched. She snickered quietly about the guy who was a complete jerk to her getting such sweet karma. "okokaaAAAAAAAAAA", he couldn't hold it in anymore, the sheer agony from his foot being a bit crushed too much to keep in.  
  
Lance tried to speak while hopping, "Why-did-you-do-that-to-me-I-just-wanted-to-say-sorry." She suddenly stopped being amused, and began to go back inside.  
  
Lance stopped the door again, "Please, Pidge, I know I was an ass and nothing can change that. I can say sorry, but it doesn't change what happened. I just don't wanna lose your friendship, and I wanna fix this."  
  
She sighed, putting her hand on her face, while frowning slightly. "Come inside, sit down", she told him.  
  
Lance came inside and sat down, still rubbing his foot while Pidge stood up and glared at him still. It wasn't a particularly big home, but it did look nice for all of it's cramped space. She had decorated it with several posters for movies/video games/etc., but the biggest collection of all was her amount of games. She had told Lance before of how much she played in her free time, which he returned with a "nerd" comment, but it was a sight to see an entire shelf of them.  
  
"You really do play a lot of games, must be hard to remember them all, right?", he asked. She still glared at him.   
  
"Wow, tough crowd. You shut your door pretty hard for what it's worth, hahaaa.....", he said to her, though she was now more annoyed than angry.  
  
"I told you not to talk to me anymore, not after the shit you pulled. I should've called the police to make you go away, and now that I try and let you redeem yourself, you're just joking with me again."  
  
Lance started to look at her, giving a look that said 'please forgive me, I'm making a pwetty face', in hopes she would do so.  
  
"Don't give me that shit Lance, that doesn't work this time", she said, rolling her eyes and looking at a poster for some superhero movie Lance didn't give a shit about.  
  
"I didn't want to try and do this over the phone, that just seemed disrespectful...", he said, scratching his ear.  
  
Pidge scoffed, "It seemed disrespectful to you? Now you're learning about being disrespectful? If only you considered that yesterday."  
  
He let out a groan, "I know I messed up, really bad, I wouldn't be surprised if you ended contact with me permanently, and acknowledging it doesn't alter the past. But I have to tell you something about myself." He looked to the floor, "Look, I just wanted to know about your crush because..", he didn't finish it.  
  
"Because what? If I had to tell you yesterday about my personal interests, the least you can do is tell me why you asked about it."  
  
He took in a deep breath and slowly told her his secret. "I asked......because I was........hoping you......liked me?", he said to her as though it were a question.  
  
She looked surprised, blushing even though her anger hadn't subsided. Was Lance for real or just joking? If he was being genuine, she might forgive him, for the sake of maybe, eventually, trying a relationship with him. On the other hand though, this could just be some fucked up joke to him, some other reason to tease her at work besides her crushing on him. She considered both of her thoughts, going with option B.  
  
"Haha, very funny. You just wanted to keep the joke going, didn't you?", she accused him, pushing up her glasses.  
  
Lance looked shocked, "No, Pidge, I'm not messing around. There's no other motive behind me saying this, I just thought it would help fix this."  
  
She began to raise her voice, though not screaming, "So...so it's not even about liking me, it's just making sure I'm not mad at you! Why are you acting so selfish!?"  
  
He put his head down, "I didn't mean it like that, I just thought it would help clear up some things between us. I wanted to let you know that I like you too, but I was being a dick about it, and you got the wrong message." He began to get up and leave, "I'll just go, you don't wanna talk anymore anyways...", he said, surprising her not only because he was honest, but he was additionally willing to leave her alone if she wanted.  
  
"Lance, wait", she said, making Lance turn around, his face covered with depression.  
  
"I forgive you, but don't forget what happened. I'm still mad that it got revealed to the others", she told him. Lance started to smile, "So...does this mean we're friends again?"  
  
She returned a small grin, "Yes, for now, only because you were honest with me and not a dick, unusual for you, but welcome regardless." He smiled and extended a hand, wishing to pull her in. "Yeah, don't get any of those ideas just yet smart-ass", she said, pushing his hand away.  
  
Lance's face twisted a bit from the awkward rejection. "Well, can I at least hug you?", he asked her, despite it making the situation even more uncomfortable for the two.  
  
She put a palm on her face, "You're such a we, just play some games with me, no hugs needed." They sat down and played smash bros., heckling each other as they played. Pidge was good, occassionally Lance would start going towards being a competent player, but was always smacked back to the bottom of the barrel by the experienced one. It almost frustrated him to be losing constantly, but he was just glad that he was spending time with his work buddy again.

   
  
  
   
   
  
Sendak woke up in the hotel room, alone again, but that was to be expected. He still had the events of yesterday on his mind, but he decided to take a shower. He struggled to fit into it, due to its size.  _'This is going to be a regular thing, isn't it?',_ his thoughts said while he turned the knob to warm. He thought of how to deal with the whole party affair, and decided he would find out where Pidge lived in order to apologize to her. Finishing his shower, he got out and used the small amount of towels available to dry off. He got dressed, wearing a shirt showing off his arms more, and decided to head to the bar where she worked. If he couldn't contact her through his phone, he would find her there. He struggled a little to find it, having only visited it once. "C'mon, where is it...", he said, walking around where he thought was familiar to him. He spotted it, putting his ears up at the sight, and went towards it. He tried the door, but found it locked. A schedule on the window had the times, and unfortunately it wasn't open in the morning on this particular day.  
  
"Shit", he swore to himself, rubbing his forehead with his finger. Suddenly, he heard someone clear their throat behind him, making him turn to see who made the noise.  
  
"We're closed in the morning on weekdays you know, if you come back later we can serve you", said the person who Sendak recognized as the manager from the other night. He appeared to be just arriving, probably to prepare for customers later on. Sendak let out a "phew", and spoke to him.  
  
"Just who I was looking for anyways, do you know where Pidge lives? She's one of your bartenders right? So I need to apologize for messing up really bad about something", he told him.  
  
The manager looked a little skeptical, "Why should I hand you my employee's addresses?", he said while tapping his hands on his arms. Sendak blinked a few times, and struggled a bit to think of the right words.  
  
"Well-you see-I-I was here the other night and I know her, kind of?", Sendak told him.  
  
The manager looked a little annoyed, "You 'Kind of' know her? Great excuse, very convincing. If you don't mind, I have to get ready for the night crowd."  
  
Sendak stopped him, "Wait. I accidentally embarassed her, at least that's what she said of it. It was really bad, and if I don't try to apologize now, she'll think I don't care about what happened. She's a good friend, and I don't want to come off as a total asshole."  
  
The manager was looking at him in surprise, then relented on his denial.  
  
"All right, if you care about your friends that much. I'll get the address out in a minute, just wait here", he told the happy galra.  
  
"Thank you sir! You're a great help!", Sendak said.  _'Ok, extremely good luck today. Now let's hope she wants to talk',_ he thought, considering what would help her to forgive him. Soon the manager came out and handed the address to Sendak, who thanked him and left. He put the address into his phone, which put up a holographic arrow that he followed to her house. On the way, he bought a surprise gift for her, he had thought of an appropriate gift to help remedy their acquaintance with each other. Once he got to her house, he double checked the arrow to make sure it was right, then knocked at her door. It opened, Pidge taking in who it was, then frowning slightly at him.   
  
"Oh, it's the other rude dude. I'm guessing you're here to apologize?", she said, leaning an arm in the doorway.  
  
Sendak thought of his response carefully, "Well......yes and no. I said sorry yesterday, but you didn't seem satisfied by that. So I want to know what I could do to help you forgive me for being a dick." She invited him in and he saw Lance, who was playing his games then turned his head to see who had come in. They both started staring each other down, still mad at each other from the previous day.  
  
"What are you doing here, she told you to back off!", Sendak said, pointing a finger as he yelled.   
  
"Wh-. She said the same thing to you! I'm not allowed to come and apologize but you are?!?", Lance shot back. Pidge put a hand on her face, listening to them talking over each other for 10 more seconds, before stopping it by slamming her door again.  
  
"Are you two done? You both did wrong, but at least you both came to apologize to me. Sendak, Lance has just as much a right to talk to me as you, so don't say he shouldn't try. And Lance, he's kinda right in saying that I told you both to leave me be. So stop fighting, and everyone just sit down", she told the two. They both grumbled, prompting a "Shut it", from Pidge.  
  
"Now Sendak, I'm not sure how you can earn my forgiveness, as your hands are too big for my controllers. Lance is off the hook because he revealed something personal to me, but I'm not sure what you can say that's relevant to my interests."  
  
Sendak wasn't sure what to do next, so he got out the gift in the bag he had carried. "So Pidge, since you play games, and I happened upon a store on the way, I bought you this little thing."  
  
Pidge's eyes widened in response to what she saw. It was a brand new Nintendo Zoltan system, which had come out 6 months previously. She hadn't had the money to buy it new or used, and so far it looked like it had a steady library, with more exclusives to come. She slowly grabbed it, wanting to make sure it was really there. Her touch confirmed her hopes, it wasn't a fake hologram or anything.  
  
"This...this is the new Nintendo Zoltan system....and you..", she couldn't finish the sentence.  
  
Sendak smiled, "Ah, it's nothing. I got a bit of money saved up, so I used some to convert it to Earth currency and get it for you. The guy at the counter said that this game would be great for it, so it's a settling in gift for it." He was holding up the latest installment in a series called, "Final Fantasy", and it was the 50th installment.  
  
She squealed in delight, "Ohmygodthankyouthankyouthankyou", and she hugged him tightly. He got knocked back a bit from the force of her hug, but he patted her back and smiled.  
  
"Do you forgive me?", he asked her, hopeful of the continuation of their friendship.  
  
She looked at him for a minute, and wasn't sure of her thoughts. Should she really forgive him because he bought an apology gift? She didn't know if it would seem ungrateful to say she hadn't forgiven him, but at the same time it was a little like a bribery. Finally she realized she didn't want to burn her bridge with him.  
  
"I guess so, you're forgiven. I'm still annoyed that it happened, so maybe just give me some space for right now. Lance can stay and play this with me, since he can use the controllers normally, but I think you should hang out with Shiro."  
  
Sendak became puzzled, "Why does he get to-oh." He realized why she wanted to be alone with Lance. "I...guess I better go. You two have fun, ok?"  
  
"Sure thing dude, I'm gonna be the best fighter in this game you got her", Lance said.  
  
"I'm sure you will, she's a good fighter though. Probably would kick your digital ass."  
  
Lance became agitated at that, "I could beat her at this, no problem!".  
  
Sendak laughed, "Just joking around, I'll stop for your sake."  
  
Pidge looked disappointed with them both. "This is not a multiplayer fighting game, it's single player. You're both idiots."  
  
They both were surprised by her remark, now feeling stupid for assuming what was in the game.  
  
"Ok Sendak, time to go now", Pidge said to him, nudging him towards the door.   
  
"What about my-", his bag was thrown out the door at his feet. "2 times people throw things at me, wonder if I can cause a third", he said, picking up the bag before heading to his boyfriends apartment.   
  
 

  
   
  
Meanwhile, near noon, Keith and Zarkon were spending some time at his condo. They remained unaware of what the others were up to, which was somewhat blissful, but worrying for Keith. He was sitting in a chair by himself, looking at his hand and wondering various things in his mind.  _'I wonder what Sendak is up to, I hope Pidge is alright, is Shiro mad at him?'_ , he thought to himself. Keith felt someone grab his shoulders, bringing him out of focus.

 

"What are you doing inside my condo, little invader?", Zarkon playfully said in his ear. Keith didn't pay attention to him, he was lost in bad memories. Zarkon surprising him reminded Keith of the Unilu from the other day, grabbing him from behind. He started shaking and putting his hands on his head. Zarkon didn't know what to do, he went to the front of him and tried to get him out of it.  
  
"Keith", he said, but his boyfriend was shaking his head rapidly.  
  
"Nononononono", Keith was saying to himself, too panicked from his normal voice. Zarkon wondered what was going on.  
  
"KEITH", his boyfriend said, putting his hand on Keith's face. Keith lashed out immediately, swiping some fingers at Zarkon's face, not realizing who he was attacking.  
  
"AAAGGGHHH", Zarkon exclaimed. Keith stopped thinking about the girl, seeing what he had done to his boyfriend. His claws left a mark on Zarkon's cheek, making him bleed. He looked at Keith with a bit of fear in his eyes, holding a hand up to his wound as it bled. Keith was horrified at what happened, looking at the blood on his clawed fingers. He ran to the bathroom, with his boyfriend following behind. Zarkon stood at the bathroom door, noticing it was locked.  _'I can't let him be alone'_ , he thought to himself.  
  
"Keith, let me in, what's going on?", he pleaded. Keith didn't answer, making Zarkon go to desperate measures. He started to kick the door open, moving it a little further off it's place every time he brought his foot to it.  
  
Keith protested, "G-go away, I've hurt y-you enough already...". He was sitting on the tub opposite from the door, but he was far enough from it to not get hurt from it being broken off the hinges. His boyfriend made another effort to kick it open, and it was enough. It broke the door from it's wooden place, and Keith was startled from him bursting in. He accidentally fell into the tub, not hitting his head fortunately. He saw Zarkon standing above him, looking worried, but still bleeding from the gash Keith had given him.  
  
Keith looked away from him, "I d-don't want to see you, you'll g-get scratched again!" Zarkon got a towel and put it on his face, rubbing at the mark. Keith wasn't looking, he was crying in the tub. Zarkon kneeled outside of the tub, and got his attention.  
  
"I'm not leaving, you can't be left like this", he said to his still crying lover. Keith sat up in the tub, looking at Zarkon and his towel.  
  
"I'll just h-hurt you again, look w-what I did to your f-face."  
  
Keith's larger boyfriend sat there, thinking of what to say. "If it helps any, I forgive you. I know you didn't mean to hurt me."  
  
Keith was still trying to make him leave, "P-please, just go. What if I s-scratch your eye out or w-worse?"  
  
Zarkon laughed a little, despite it hurting his cheek. "You wouldn't do that on purpose, you're very gentle, well, besides today that is", he said as a joke. Keith took this as an admittance of supposed "danger", and just panicked further.  
  
"You just said w-why! I can't hurt you when you l-least expect it! I can't d-date you if you're gonna g-get hurt because of me..", he said to a now hurt Zarkon.  
  
"Now hang on, who said anything about breaking up with you?", he said, somewhat sad in his tone.  
  
Keith sniffed, "You're n-not gonna want to b-be around me if I get l-like this.."  
  
Zarkon held a hand out towards Keith, who slowly took it, and he was gently pulled up to his boyfriend. Zarkon kissed him for a second, holding his face with his hand, then stopped it, not knowing if Keith would be overwhelmed. He still held his face, though it was a gentle grip, a rough one may have put Keith into another fit. Zarkon's face was bleeding, but his smile said 'You're worth the hurt'.    
  
"I will never stop wanting to be around you, you're full of surprises and I want to find them all out", he said.   
  
Keith started to get up, he didn't know why his boyfriend was being so stubborn about staying when he would get scratched again. This, of course, was an irrational way of looking at it, but Keith was not in a rational state. Zarkon was more than willing to let him walk his own pace around the condo, if it would help him cope with whatever this was that was making him act delusional. He stopped, shuddering and speaking quietly.  
  
"Just o-one...one s-second...", he couldn't move, and stayed like that for a few minutes. He sunk onto the floor, his mind a whirl of negativity that just wouldn't go away. Zarkon knelt down him, pulling him in for a comforting hug. He locked around Keith long enough to get the message in that he loved him. Keith was surprised, he hadn't realized how stubborn Zarkon was about this. Keith closed his eyes and let Zarkon hug him, while tears free ran down Keith's face.  
  
"You are not a bad person, you just got confused about something. Do you want to tell me what happened?"  
  
Keith was a little unsure, "I...you won't understand it...."  
  
Zarkon wasn't taking no for an answer, "I won't leave this condo until you tell me why you clawed at me."  
  
"...Ok, but you'll let go of me first. I won't leave the condo, but I have to stand up when I'm gonna talk about this."   
  
Zarkon was a little reluctant, but released his hug from Keith's waist. Keith went to the middle of the condo, and started pacing a few feet, back and forth. He didn't speak for a moment, but the words came soon enough.  
  
"You grabbed me, and I started to think of that...fucking nasty girl from the other day", he said to a now understanding Zarkon.  
  
"Shit, I didn't intend to remind-"  
  
"Let me finish please. When I started thinking about that, it made me just, lose reality? I don't know, but it made me afraid. I didn't want to be there, and when you touched my face, I just saw her face there instead of yours, and I just...God", he wiped a tear from his eye.  
  
He sat down on the couch, starting to cry again, though not as much as before. Zarkon sat next to him, asking if he could put an arm around Keith, and Keith instead leaned into Zarkon's lap, holding his boyfriends thigh as though it were the only thing that mattered anymore. He ran his hand through Keith's hair, making his boyfriend start to purr from the strokes that hit the right spots.  
  
"It's ok, you don't have to think about it anymore." Keith smiled and looked up at Zarkon, who returned a happy look, despite his gash.  
  
"So, what now?", Keith asked him.  
  
"I believe that after this little incident, we could just stay here today. I don't know if you want to see other people right now."  
  
Keith sighed, leaving his head on his boyfriends leg, "I don't really want to explain why you have a mark on your cheek unless I have to. So for now let's just relax and..talk?"  
  
Zarkon nodded, and Keith asked him a question, "That scar over your eye, what happened?"  
  
Zarkon looked away for a moment, then answered. "Family incident, when I was younger. My father did not take kindly to me chasing after anyone other than a galra, much less the men. He went to jail for doing it, don't worry, but I couldn't believe he was so backwards that he decided to scar me physically, and somewhat...mentally."  
  
Keith looked sad, "You don't need to say anymore. You're obviously not remembering it fondly, let's drop it."  
  
Zarkon agreed, "I don't like to dwell on negativity, too many bad thoughts, not enough positive thinking."  
  
Keith thought of a different topic, "You know, you're a lot larger than me."  
  
Zarkon raised his eyebrow, "And?"  
  
Keith laughed, "It's just, you're more muscular than me, by so much, taller as well. I don't know what people would think when they see us. It's like a stick dating a log, I suppose."  
  
Zarkon didn't know what he was getting at, "Are you saying you don't want us to be seen together?"  
  
Keith was surprised, "Oh, no, no. That's not what I meant, we can be public, I'm not the closeted type. I just think it'll be funny how some people might perceive us, as a couple."  
  
Zarkon was relieved, nodding his head and continuing to run his fingers through Keith's head, "I'm glad you don't have any qualms with dating me, I had to break up with an otherwise "kind" person because he didn't want people to see our relationship. Not just because we were two men together, but he was Altean and I was Galran."  
  
Keith put his ears back, "This is a depressing day, isn't it. We try to avoid our problems, but they just spill out, don't they?"  
  
Zarkon laughed, "I suppose they do, we could both use someone to talk to."  
  
Keith looked up at his boyfriends face, he still held a towel to it, though the blood was spreading through it by the minute.  
  
"That's gonna need to get stitches, isn't it?"  
  
Zarkon sighed, "I suppose it will."  
  
Keith got up and typed into his phone, finding a nearby hospital listed in locations. "C'mon, there's a hospital about 10 minutes away from here, if you drive that is."  
  
   
   
Walking outside the condo, they hailed a taxi and told the cab driver where to go. Since the driver noticed Zarkon's bleeding face, he drove quickly in order to get him medical care a.s.a.p. They arrived at the hospital, thanking the driver for arriving so soon. Keith was about to pay the fare, but the driver stopped them, refusing to take their fare in a medical matter. Keith and Zarkon were surprised, but went inside anyways. Entering the waiting room, they notified the staff of Zarkon's wound. Within 5 minutes, Zarkon was led away by a couple of nurses, who were both alien and human. Keith was allowed to be in the same room as him, but he stepped outside when they started to stitch his gash.  
  
"Sorry, can't deal with that", he said to his now hospital gown wearing lover as he closed the door. Within a short time, they were finished and Keith was notified to come in.  
  
He hugged Zarkon, "I'm glad they fixed you up, does it hurt?"  
  
Zarkon stopped his worried boyfriends thoughts, "It's ok, I'm fine. I couldn't even feel much when they were putting the stitches in. A slight tingle maybe, but no pain."  
  
Keith sighed, "Good, you don't need to get hurt again." They continued the conversation, talking about how to deal with his face, how the others would react to it. The door to the room opened, a doctor entering to interrupt their talking.  
  
"Hello, I'm Dr. Fitch, I specialize in alien species, which you may find odd because I'm human." They both greeted him and shook his hand.  
  
"I'd like to ask a few questions, is that alright?", he said to them.  
  
"That's fine", said Zarkon.  
  
"Fire away", said Keith. The doctor got out a laptop and fiddled with it for a minute before asking the first question.  
  
"Are you two related? You are about 20 years older than him so I assume you are his father", he said to them. Keith blushed a bit, not finding an answer.  
  
Zarkon decided to speak for him, "No, we aren't related. We're dating currently."  
  
"Not related", the doctor quietly said to himself, typing into his laptop.   
  
Another question came soon, "Have you argued with each other before today?" Keith wasn't blushing anymore, he was shocked that he thought they abused each other.  
  
"No, we've been fine. Why do you ask?", he said to the doctor.  
  
"It's a process of knowing why there is a wound on your boyfriend."  
  
"I didn't-not on purpose, it's difficult to explain", Keith said as Dr. Fitch typed.  
  
Zarkon spoke up, "He had a traumatic incident recently, and he lashed out without knowing what he was doing."  
  
Keith glared at his boyfriend, and the doctor stopped typing. "What type of trauma?", he asked. Keith groaned, he didn't want to explain it to someone. Zarkon motioned him to talk to the doctor, which Keith unwillingly did.  
  
"There was a girl at a bar, 2 days ago. It was actually when I first got with my boyfriend. He went to the bathroom and she came from behind and started feeling me up. I tried to leave, but she held on and didn't let go. Zarkon stopped her, and she left, but I was still pretty upset over it. Today he grabbed my shoulders and I guess it was like when the girl had grabbed me. I panicked, and when he tried to help, I did...that." He pointed to the stitched up mark on Zarkon's cheek. "I didn't know what I was doing, all I could think about was the night that she touched my sides. He touched my face, and I sent my nails at who I thought was the girl, unintentionally clawing him. I still feel guilty about it..", he finished.  
  
Dr. Fitch typed for a minute, then spoke up. "I will be back as soon as I can, I'll try and find someone to talk to you Keith", he said. He went out and closed the door, while Keith looked down.  
  
Zarkon tried to question him, "What's wrong?"  
  
Keith had been waiting to speak alone, and he spoke as quietly as he could. "I just had to reveal that, I feel so dirty..and......", he didn't cry, but he didn't want to keep talking about it.  
  
Zarkon pulled him closer, "You don't need to feel bad, you didn't want her to do that."  
  
Keith put his face closer into Zarkon's hospital gown, over his chest. He looked at Zarkon, deciding he was a good catch for him. He didn't mind dating him over, that's right... . He had a crush on his best friend once, but now he found someone else. But did he even need to tell Zarkon that he liked someone else before him? Keith decided to keep it in his head, he would tell Zarkon when he was ready to know. He still couldn't help but feel like he was guilty for making Sendak come with him to Earth for his own reasons. Their snuggle session was interrupted by a therapist coming in to talk to Keith.  
  
"Hi, my name is Kathy. I heard you went through something bad Keith, would you like to talk about it with me?"  
  
Zarkon looked at Keith, and whispered, "If you aren't ready to talk, you don't have to."  
  
Keith decided against his advice, "I can talk with you, I'd like to be in a different room if that's fine."  
  
Kathy agreed and they both left the room. Keith let the words spill out, anger and sadness taking him over.  
  
"I feel like a, a fucking prostitute! I don't need someone to touch me like that but it happened anyways and I'm so...ashamed..I don't know why, FUCK!!", he said to Kathy who remained calm.  
  
"You have no need to blame yourself, you've done nothing wrong. The person who did this to you, they're a sick, sad person who needs to be locked up", she said to him. Keith talked about different things affecting him, but eventually moved on to a different topic, that being his relationship to Zarkon.  
  
"The only reason I met Zarkon was because I went on vacation here to Earth, and he happened to go on vacation here as well. But the reason I came on vacation was because I wanted to tell someone else that I had a crush on them. He's my best friend and now I feel guilty for vacationing with him for selfish reasons, and if Zarkon reacts badly then he'll break up with me. Sendak probably won't even want to be my friend anymore if he ever knows that I liked him in that way. It's a big pile of shit!!"  
  
Keith hadn't gotten that angry since the bar event, and he breathed rapidly. Kathy gave him a tissue so he could wipe some of the tears that ran down his face. Keith rubbed the parts of his face that had gotten wet, and Kathy began to speak to him.  
  
"If you're in a relationship with your new boyfriend, then you've moved past your crush, right?"  
  
Keith nodded, she had a point there. "I don't really feel that way about him anymore ever since I've been with Zarkon."  
  
"Then you have no need to worry about your former crush. If you really want to tell him about it, then nothing is stopping you. But if you feel that's a personal thing to keep to yourself, then keep it private."  
  
He didn't stop before to consider how simple it was. But the hard truth was he hated how hard it was to just tell them the truth. It would be easy enough to just keep it hidden, but at what cost? The guilt didn't need to further along his problems, it would be harder to keep it in than just speaking honestly with his friends. He stared at the white walls, empty of any detail that interested him, save for a point that it shifted to light blue. That didn't really matter at the moment, but he wanted to think of something other than revealing his crush on Sendak.  
  
"I know I can keep it secret, that's what I was doing already. But every time I see Sendak it's like a wave of self-hate washes over me! I can't believe I hid my true intentions from him, if anyone needs to know, it's him. I hid my feelings like an idiot and it all led to this. I..I.."  
  
"If you want to tell him, then it's best to do it alone. Just a forewarning, there's no way of knowing if it will be a positive or a negative change on your life."   
  
Keith stopped crying and wiped his face some more. "I'll tell him tomorrow, I can't tell him today. Not with everything that happened."  
  
"You can talk with him whenever you're ready to."  
  
He decided to end the therapy session and get Zarkon in order to leave the hospital. The doctor gave them a treatment plan for the stitches (along with a bill), and they left using a taxi again, this time paying the fare. The drive felt longer for Keith, dread washing over him over his decision to tell Zarkon what he had kept from him. He looked at some palm trees as they passed, their leaves swaying in the wind and vanishing when the car turned a corner. _'This day can't be any worse at least',_ he thought. Soon they arrived, and when they went inside, Keith informed Zarkon of the whole truth.  
  
"Look, I've been lying to you about something. Sendak, I had a crush on him before I got in this relationship with you, and I didn't think it important to tell you. I need to tell him, not out of some change of heart for who I like, don't worry. Otherwise I'll feel guilty for hiding it from him, and for coming on this vacation partly because I wanted to spend closer moments with him. Whatever happens tomorrow, just know that I love you, I'm sorry for not telling the truth."  
  
Zarkon didn't say anything, but he soon smiled. This only confused Keith, shouldn't his boyfriend be mad at him? He was further confused when Zarkon put his hand on his shoulder, not out of a hateful grip, but a soft, loving one.  
  
"I already know you liked him. I never told you, but I observed you at the beach the other day, after you had asked me on the date. You seemed to tease him a lot, especially with that water gun you had."  
  
Keith put his ears back slightly, "Y-you knew? And you don't hate me?"  
  
Zarkon knelt down and spoke softly to him, "It looks to me like you've moved on from him, so I hold no bad feelings about it. I'll support you when you tell him, so you don't feel alone. There's a more important thing to say right now though: I love you too."  
  
Keith sniffed a little bit, then kissed his boyfriend. He had tears of joy/sadness running down his cheeks, and Zarkon felt them against his own. Zarkon put his arms around him in a soft grip, and spoke again. "Shhhhhh, it's all right, it will be fine", he said to Keith, who pressed his face against Zarkon's shirt. They only had known  
  
"Zarkon, what will happen to us once this vacation is over?", Keith said.  
  
Zarkon found an answer after a minute, "We both have to go back to the same planet right? I'm not opposed to you living with me."  
  
Keith looked up, "Are you sure you want to me to live with you back home?"  
  
"I figured since you're living with me now, in my condo, it wouldn't make a difference once it was over."  
  
Keith laughed, thinking of his hotel room, "Yeah, I really need to ask Sendak about getting a partial refund on that room. We're barely using it anymore."

  
  
  
   
  
Sendak, the former subject of being Keith's crush, was on his way to Shiro's apartment. When he arrived, he stared at the door, thinking of how that was the last thing he'd seen of Shiro. He realized if he sat outside the door until his boyfriend got home, then he would have to talk to Sendak. He had a bit of waiting to do, and soon feel asleep in the mid day heat. He dreamed of Shiro, whirling together through space, not feeling the cold effects of it and breathing just fine. They flew past planets and stars, going quickly through galaxies, superclusters, the universe itself. It was a beautiful sight, and they were happy to just be together for all of the wonders in front of them. At his happiest moment, he turned to Shiro, but he was a statue. His stone boyfriend was emotionless, and was stuck gripping Sendak's hand. Sendak panicked at the sight, and tried to come undone from it. They started to fly towards a sun, and Sendak frantically tried to get the grip released. They got closer and closer, Sendak feeling nothing as he burned, and suddenly he woke up from it. "Aah! huh-huh-huh", he said in audible breaths. He noticed Shiro standing in front of him, who looked a little worried.  
  
"Did you fall asleep and have a nightmare? Come inside, I'll make you some cocoa", he said as he took Sendak up and led him in.  
  
Sendak sat on the couch, dazed from the bad dream, until Shiro came and put the cocoa in front of him. He drank it, making a happy "mmmmm" sound, while Shiro observed from the side, not appearing happy or mad. He soon finished it, liking it's sweet taste, but Shiro remained silent. The two stared at each other, not speaking for a second until Shiro started to shift a bit in order to properly speak  
  
He cleared his throat before he began, "About yesterday, I'm still thinking about it. Have you made up with Pidge and Lance?"  
  
Sendak spoke a little nervously, not sure if his boyfriend was still mad at him. "Yes, it should be fine between us. Pidge wanted some space from me for the time being, but she's forgiven me. I bought her a gift to try and ease the dislike of me for what happened, and she appreciated it. Me and Lance have a truce, she saw to it."  
  
Shiro didn't speak for a few moments, but soon found words to stop Sendak's wondering "Well if that's the case, I forgive you for what happened yesterday then. Don't play truth or dare in this place again, ok?"  
  
Sendak smiled, "I promise not to, for your sake and mine."  
  
He was relieved that Shiro was willing to forgive him for the party. He made space for Shiro on the couch and beckoned him to sit next to him. He did walk over or course, happily taking the spot next to him, and he started rubbing his arm.  
  
"Nice muscles you got here, work out often?", he said, knowing the answer already.  
  
"Only to have humans come up and rub them randomly, yes."  
  
Shiro sighed and leaned into him, enjoying the fur that he missed. He rubbed his hands through his boyfriends chest under the shirt, enjoying the feeling of it.  
  
"I hope we don't fight again", he said looking up to Sendak.  
  
"I hope so too, I love you too much to argue."  
  
Sendak wasn't sure if Shiro was still a little ticked about the previous day, so he decided to ask.  
  
"Are you still mad at me? I know you forgave me and all, but that doesn't mean you don't stop thinking about certain things."  
  
Shiro didn't respond for a moment, still rubbing Sendak's fur. He stopped to look up at the ceiling and speak to his larger partner. "It's in the past now I suppose, if you hadn't tried to fix your friendships I would still be mad. It helps that you're on good terms with them too."  
  
Shiro got up and led Sendak into the bedroom, where they both undressed as casually as before. They hadn't slept nude, just in their underwear and with/without a shirt, depending on what they felt like wearing. Shiro had worn a shirt but Sendak never really wore one, considering Shiro usually nestled into his fur as he slept. Sendak wasn't able to sleep very well, he was thinking of his boyfriend, a quick connection to each other's lips was needed to stop this. He turned to look at him, and found him staring back.  
  
"Awake still?", he asked the human. Shiro moved to his lovers lips and he gladly allowed him to taste his mouth. They didn't speak, no noises, only a pure moment of need for the other. The only surprise was Shiro's wondering hand, which went to Sendak's somewhat aroused bulge.  
  
Sendak broke away for a moment, "Do you want to do this tonight?". Shiro only kissed him as his response, undressing him and then himself.   
  
He broke away just long enough to give consent, "I'm sure, we've waited long enough", he said to his now purring boyfriend.  
  
Their pining was brought to satisfaction as they satisfied each other through the night. Shiro knew a few tricks, but Sendak could do ever more, to the delight of his boyfriend. Once they finished, they cleaned up a bit and then kept close together afterwards. Shiro felt at his mark that Sendak had given him during the sex. He wasn't sure why he did it, and it wasn't a deep one, but it was probably just his equivalent to a hickey.  
  
Sendak noticed him touching it, "Do you dislike the biting?"  
  
Shiro smiled and ran his hand over Sendak's abs. "I don't dislike it, it felt good actually, and you didn't break the skin. I don't know why you did it though, if you would like to tell me."  
  
Sendak was happy to say why, "It's a way of putting love on a partner, usually near the couple's climax, and it lets others know that you're taken by someone. Plus, it's usually given by a dominant partner, if you understand that."  
  
Shiro chuckled a little, "Dominance? I thought we were both pretty good to each other a bit ago. Ah well, you are the larger one in this relationship. And we have love marks as well, but you don't have any skin bared for them so I can't really return those to you."  
  
He put his face in his boyfriends chest and said something that was muffled by the fur, which came out as, "Aimrhiialofithu."  
  
"I'll assume that was your admittance of undying love", Sendak said to his now sleepy boyfriend.  
  
Shiro got his face out of the fur in order to properly breathe, "Something like that. Goodnight teddy bear." Sendak gave his boyfriend a kiss on his head, purring while they drifted into sleep.  
  
  
   
Elsewhere, Lance was leaving Pidge's little home. The hangout had went well, Pidge making some dinner for the two after they had stopped playing games, and they even watched a movie together, though on seperate chairs. She wanted to watch one of her superhero movies of course, not exactly to Lance's taste, but if she was happy, then he was too. It wasn't a date per se, but Lance liked to think it went a little like one.   
  
"So, I had fun. You're really good at that game, do you practice a lot?", he said, leaning a hand on her guard rail outside the door.  
  
"Well what else can I do in my free time when I'm not dating anyone?", she said with a smirk.   
  
"Can I help you practice? It helps to fight a real person in your game.", he said.   
  
She laughed, "Oh yeah, I'm sure you'll give me such a challenge Lance." He laughed at her joke, and suddenly couldn't think of what to say.   
  
"I, uh, better get going, goodnight Pidge", he told her.   
  
"Lance, wait, I have to tell you something important", Pidge said in a desperate tone.   
  
"Yes Pidge?", Lance said while looking at her with his best 'handsome' look, hoping she would kiss him goodnight.   
  
"See you tomorrow at work, and stop looking so disappointed."   
  
Indeed, Lance was disgruntled that she merely was telling him that.  _'Oh I'll be seeing you tomorrow, and I'll ask you out too",_ he thought to himself as he walked home, contemplating just how he would do so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this chapter, I appreciate it!


	6. Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith confesses to Sendak about having had a crush on him, Shiro deals with the aftermath of it, and Lance decides to ask Pidge out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry that took so long to write. If you're a regular reader, I apologize for the wait on this.

Sendak woke from sleep, and sat up in Shiro's bed, yawning. Shiro had left for work a couple of hours earlier, leaving him alone to watch Shiro's home. His nose told him a quick answer to the question of a shower after checking himself. He finished after 15 minutes, getting dressed with the spare pair of clothes he had left at Shiro's. He opened the fridge, the chill hitting his face, making him shiver a little as he looked for food. On the top shelf of the fridge, there was a plate of bacon. He got it out and read a note attached to it, written in a special way by his lover.  
  
'I know you like this stuff, so eat up. Love you :)'.  
  
He smiled, and kissed the note as a gesture of thanks. He ate the bacon cold, as he didn't know how to operate Shiro's microwave yet. There wasn't a crunch this time, due to it being refrigerated, but it still tasted good. He grabbed his phone out of his pocket in the meantime, checking for anything new. There was a voice message from Keith, so he laid it on the table to listen to as he ate.  
  
"Hey, Sendak, I wanted to talk to you about something, privately. It's a personal thing, so shoot me a text if you wanna meet."  
  
He swallowed the last bite of the strip he was eating, wiped his fingers off, and messaged Keith.  
  
'Hey man. You said you wanted to talk to me? We can meet up at Zarkon's, I just need to know where it's at, I haven't been there yet.'  
  
He waited a few minutes for the response, and received an address and an instruction to meet at lunchtime. Sendak looked at his phone, which displayed a galran time approximately an hour before lunch. He decided to make himself look nice for half an hour, styling his head fur carefully. When he was finished, he decided to start walking towards the address Keith gave him.  
  
   He locked up Shiro's apartment, and as he walked, he wondered in his head about Keith.  _'I hope he's not too anchored on thinking about the bar, it must be devastating for him.',_ he thought. He picked up his pace a bit, then arrived at the condo that Zarkon had rented. He checked his phone, and according to galran time he was the equivalent of 15 minutes early. He knocked at the door, hearing a set of footsteps that revealed themselves to be Keith once the door opened.  
  
"Yeah I heard there was a giant nerd here, needed beating up", Sendak said to him.  
  
"Yeah he just arrived. Now come inside and eat before you set yourself up like that again."  
  
Sendak came inside and sat at the kitchen table. There was a plate of some sort of toasted item with cheese in the middle, and Sendak let the flavors sink in as he tried it. The warm feeling against his mouth and the taste of the gooey cheese made a good combination.  
  
"I'm gonna tell Shiro to make this sometime", he said after he swallowed the last bite of the 1st grilled cheese sandwich.   
  
Zarkon agreed, "I would like to eat this again in the future."  
  
Keith smiled and twirled his spatula, "Well, ain't I just a 5-star chef."  
  
Sendak snickered, "Sure, a 5-star burning bread chef", he said as he held up a side that was blacker than the other.  
  
"Eat the food I made", he said with an evil eye trained on the complainer.   
  
Sendak noticed the fresh mark on Zarkon's cheek, analyzing the deep cut and the stitches holding it together.  
  
"What happened to you? Knife accident?"  
  
Zarkon stopped chewing for a moment, "You mean my face? It happened during lunch yesterday."  
  
"If it helps, there's a certain way to hold human knives. I could show you the technique Shiro taught me."  
  
"Thanks, but it won't happen again. Keith has taken over the cooking duties."  
  
They finished eating, and Keith whispered something in Zarkon's ear. Zarkon nodded and left to go behind the condo, leaving Keith and Sendak alone. Keith went into the living room area of the condo, and sat opposite of Sendak.  
  
Sendak cleared his throat, "So....what did you want to talk to me about?"  
  
Keith didn't speak for a second, then opened his mouth and cautiously spoke. "Sendak, you know that we've been friends for a long time, and I hope to continue this friendship. But for most of the friendship, I...had a crush on you."  
  
Sendak chuckled, "You invited me here to feed me and then tell a joke? At least I got free food out of it, right?"  
  
Keith still maintained a straight face after joking with his best friend. He waited for the halfling galra to falter a little, perhaps a smile after the first 20 seconds, but it never came. His regular eye blinked, hoping Keith would stop this little prank, but he maintained a serious demeanor. Sendak's mouth lowered into a frown, a bird in the distance could be heard breaking the silence between the two. It was broken again by Keith continuing his revelation.  
  
"I originally went on this vacation to tell you, but then you found Shiro and I found Zarkon, that's life I suppose."  
  
Sendak didn't speak, moving a hand under his chin to rub it. As the minutes passed, the ticks were more audible than before. Each second only set a darker shadow on the outcome of the confession.   
  
"....How long?", Sendak asked him.  
  
"A few months after our friendship began. I just found myself staring at you more than usual. I didn't think of you very sexually, I just wanted to try a relationship. I never worked up the courage to ask you. I don't feel anything for you anymore, now that we both have someone."  
  
Sendak let out a sigh through his nose, and ran a hand down his face. "Were we ever friends then?"  
  
"What? Of course we were friends. I enjoyed hanging out with you. You're a fun person, anyone can see that."  
  
"That's not what I meant, did you only become friends because you had a crush on me? Why did you just lie to me and never tell me earlier, when it was a better time to tell me? Especially now that I'm dating Shiro and it makes this even worse to hear?!?" His rage could be heard by anyone in close proximity, even Zarkon must have heard it.  
  
"Sendak...I...can-"  
  
"Can you what, can you explain how everytime you were looking at me it wasn't because I was your friend, you just wanted to feel me up?" Sendak saw the streams flow down his friends face as he pummeled him with his words.  
  
"You just wanted me to be a fuckbuddy and-"  
  
 "STOP ACCUSING ME OF THAT, JUST SHUT UP AND LET ME EXPLAIN", Keith shouted over the ticked galra. He had stood up from his chair, standing in a way to intimidate someone to back down.  
  
Sendak was furious and wanted to keep yelling, but he closed his mouth, all the while keeping his angry eye aimed at Keith.  
  
"I didn't just look at you in a sexual way, I told you that. And I like being friends with you, you're nice to hang out with, you don't judge my hobbies, you were there for me when no one else wanted to be. I just happened to like you in a way more than friendship. The only reason I'm telling you this is because I felt guilty every time I saw you. I felt like I was being selfish for hiding my crush on you. I hope you can forgive me, I'm sorry."  
  
Keith waited for his friend to speak, the all too familiar ticking returning as a minute passed by.  
  
"Whatever friendship we had, it's done."  
  
Keith didn't expect him to sever his ties, he was a little prepared for anger but not this. Keith's mouth shook a little as he pleaded with him, "Sendak please don't leave, you don't mean-"  
  
"Yes, I do mean it. I don't want anything to do with you, not after you lied about being a friend when you just wanted to sleep with me. Yeah, wait till Shiro hears about this, you little prick."  
  
Sendak got up and stomped towards the front door, the thuds shaking the room as he got closer to the door. Keith had to say something, anything to get him to come back and talk. "Sendak, please, don't go, I can-"  
  
*SLAM*  
  
Zarkon heard the door and rushed inside, finding Keith on his knees looking at the front door in disbelief. There was one less galra than before, but the effect on the missing one was evident on Keith's shaking figure. His shaken boyfriend kept looking at the door, saying 'please' silently with his mouth as though he was expecting Sendak to come back in. He knelt in front of Keith, asking him what happened. Keith didn't speak for a moment, but the words eventually came, though his voice was hardly there.  
  
"He left. He doesn't want to be around me anymore. So I guess that's that for my lifelong best friend..."  
  
Zarkon noticed tears that began streaming from his golden eyes, Keith's precious eyes. He hated to see Keith like this, and hugged him, though Keith made no effort to return the effort to his boyfriend. He rubbed tears from Keith's eyes and started to try cheering him up.  
  
"I'm sure he's just processing it, it will-"  
  
Keith pushed away from Zarkon with all his strength, all the while staring at the floor with murderous intent. Zarkon extended a hand, but it was quickly pushed away by the frustrated galra.  
  
"Stop, just stop Zarkon. He's really mad and he meant what he said! He's gonna tell the others, then they'll hate me too, so don't say 'it'll be fine' or 'things will work out'. You always think you know what's going on, but you don't, so stop acting like you do!"  
  
Zarkon didn't say anything, silent from Keith raging at him. Compassion made him try to touch Keith's shoulder, but he was brushed off.  
  
"I have to go somewhere, I need to walk, just something to distract me from all this bullshit. Don't follow me."  
  
Keith got up and went out the door, shutting it behind him and starting a sprinting pace to nowhere in particular. He felt his phone buzz, so he reached for it and saw his boyfriends contact photo for a phone call. Keith just closed his eyes, frustrated at Zarkon's inability to leave him be. He threw the phone on the ground, watching it break into several pieces. He lingered on the sidewalk for a moment, until he remembered the park that Sendak had mentioned to him when talking about his date with Shiro. He resolved to head there, it was a better place than any he had on offer.  
  
Zarkon was left alone in the condo, still surprised at Keith's sudden anger at him. He didn't know why he would push away his boyfriend, of all people. He called out for him, hoping a voice would return an answer. He ran outside to the front of the condo, half expecting Keith to have been sulking on the front steps. He looked around, but Keith was gone from his sight. He got his phone out and quickly dialed the missing galra's number, but it stopped in the middle of the call. He dialed again, this time it automatically went to a robotic apology. The realization that Keith wasn't going to talk hit him, and he looked through his contacts to find Shiro's number. Zarkon wrote a text faster than usual for his typing, keeping it short and to the point.  
  
'Sendak and Keith fought, don't know where Keith went. Need help finding him asap!!'  
  
   
  
  
  
Shiro was finishing up a sale with a customer when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He looked at his pants for half a second, then turned back to the customer.  
  
"Sorry about that, my darn phone. Here's your bags, have a nice day ma'am!", and the woman went for the exit.  
  
When he was by himself, he got his phone out and saw a new notification, ' **Message from Zarkon** '. He opened it and read the contents, his hand moving over his mouth while his eyebrows made him look worried. Just then, he received a voice message from Sendak, which he opened and held up to his ear.  
  
"Guess what, me and ex-best friend, now known as lying asshole, are not hanging out anymore. I don't want to see him near me or at your apartment again, you'll understand once you get home."  
  
Shiro was confused, "What the hell is going on?", he said to himself.  
  
He decided to wait until 4:00 and ask to leave early, regardless of if that would look bad on him for doing so. In the meantime, he sent Zarkon a reply, hoping it would help a little.  
  
'Will help as soon as I leave early, will try and meet you sometime around 5:00'.   
  
Shiro looked for anything to do while waiting, doing as much help with customers or regular work as he could. He fidgeted and bit his nail when he couldn't find anything else to do until the clock reached it's fateful time, and jumped at any opportunity to do a chore for his job. Once the clock reached 4PM, he went to speak to his boss as soon as she was done speaking on the phone.   
  
"Jen, can I leave early when Allison gets here? My boyfriend isn't acting himself, and his best friend has gone missing. They had a fight as far as I know."  
  
She looked at him with a pitiful face, "Oh damn. I'll let you leave early, but I'll have to give you extra hours on your next schedule. And you can tell Allison she's working alone tonight."  
  
He made a relieved smile, she didn't know how grateful he was for her permission. "Thank you so, so much Jen. I'll tell her, don't worry."  
  
His coworker arrived after about 20 minutes, and he went to explain the situation to her.  
  
"I need you to work alone tonight Ally, I'm sorry. Something very bad has come up and it needs to be resolved quickly."   
  
She looked a little surprised, "Well, better to know now I guess. See you Shiro."  
  
And with that, he left the store to get back to his apartment. He got to his apartment and scrambled for the keys. Finding the right one, he unlocked his door quickly and went inside, hoping the situation wasn't too out of control.   
  
"Sendak? Sendak where-oh my god..." He saw Sendak on the kitchen floor, crying and drinking from a vodka bottle.  
  
"Helllooo Sh-shiro *hic*. Gooooood thing you're here because I need to speak with you about a certain *hic* asshole."  
  
Shiro grabbed the bottle from Sendak, prompting a "Hey!", and he dumped it out into the sink. "Fat load of good that will do, what happened?", he asked as the last liquid drip left the bottle.  
  
Sendak grumbled, "Keith, that fuckin' prick. He told me something, you wanna know what he said to me?"  
  
Shiro nodded, though he was afraid of what was going to come out of Sendak's mouth.  
  
"He said he had a crush on me. That our godsdamning friendship was *hic* a bit of him just liking me, and he wanted to date me before I had met you. He said he went on vacation with me because *hic* he wanted to tell me he wanted to date me, but then he and I got caught up in our own relationships so it was a bust for him. Motherfucker says he 'feels guilty', he should. I don't need to be *hic* played around with."  
  
Shiro was surprised, he hadn't expected Keith to have felt that way towards his best friend. Though Keith always did tease Sendak, so it made a bit of sense.  
  
"Sendak, you're not going to stop speaking with him are you?"   
  
Sendak laughed in a drunk way, "Haheeehehe, why in the universe should I speak with him? This sucks for me Shiro, he tells me now when I'm dating you, and apparently he just *hic* doesn't trust me enough to think I wouldn't hate him for it."  
  
"You don't feel anything towards him romance wise then?". His eyes looked in wait for a response.  
  
"What? No I *hic* love you. No one else can change that." He leaned in for a kiss, but Shiro moved away from him, processing the situation while disregarding anything else.  
  
"Fuuuck, you're mad at *hic* me now."  
  
Shiro didn't know if he wanted to yell at his boyfriend, but he thought of a more sensible excuse to speak normally.  
  
"Sendak, I can't kiss you when you're drunk and I'm sober, it's not good. Now get up, we're meeting Zarkon and finding Keith, he's gone missing after whatever you two did. When we find him, you two will talk, and you will apologize. I think he's really hurt from this."  
  
"Oh HE'S hurt, well let me play a sad song on the universe's tiniest instrument."  
  
Shiro glared at him, "He's your best friend, and I know you don't really hate him, so stop acting like you do."  
  
Sendak stopped talking and drunkenly blinked his eye in an abnormal pace. They both left his apartment and met up with Zarkon at his condo, after Shiro asked for a way to get there. Zarkon was waiting on the condo steps when he spotted them. He smiled to the two, but he still looked worried over Keith.  
  
"Thank gods you're here. Sendak, what happened once he told you his secret?"  
  
Sendak looked to the side and made a scowl, prompting Shiro to hit him lightly while giving a stern look. Sendak growled slightly, but spoke to Zarkon anyways. "Keith, said he had a crush on me. Bet he didn't tell you that was the secret, now *hic*, did he?"  
  
Zarkon sighed, "I already knew he liked you. I could tell from the way he acted around you, he seemed close to you, but you never saw it."  
  
Sendak closed his eye, looking upwards to the sky in frustration. "Why am I the *hic* villain here?"  
  
"No one said you were. Look, I agree that Keith should've told you when it was a better time, but you can't try and ignore whatever you did to make Keith run off like this." Shiro didn't like talking to Sendak like that, but he couldn't help but be a little pissed at him.   
  
"Shiro's right, Keith is devastated because of whatever you two fought over." Zarkon rubbed his thumbs together, staring at the ground while saying something to himself. He looked up at them with a question, "Do you know where he could be, anything to give a lead?"  
  
Sendak swallowed his spite and tried to think, but the alcohol had taken it's toll on his mind. "This godsdamning vodka, I can't piece anything together." He hit his head repeatedly until Shiro made him stop, for fear he would give himself a headache.  
  
"Wait, you've been drinking?", Zarkon asked.  
  
"This affected him badly, though not enough to up and leave.", Shiro said.  
  
It was then that Shiro noticed Zarkon's new face wound, becoming another in a trend of askers. "What happened to your cheek? Is it alright?"  
  
He lied, "It was a knife accident, Sendak already knows."  
  
Shiro shook his head with a sad look, "Everything just causes us hurt lately, but back to the important subject at hand. We need to think; Zarkon, maybe Keith mentioned something to you about where he preferred to go?"  
  
Zarkon thought, then realized something, "He's talked with me about a park that Sendak went to, it has a spot for looking at the sunset?"  
  
Shiro thought about it for a moment, then realized he knew what Zarkon was asking about.  
  
"Does this place have trees where the light runs through them during dusk?", he said to the older galra.  
  
Zarkon had a smile take over his mouth, "Exactly! Do you know where this place is?", he asked.  
  
"Me and glugsy over here ("hey!") went there as our first date."  
  
"This is fantastic news, hahaa!" Zarkon couldn't help but to shout at the good news.   
   
"Why are you *hic* laughing at nothing?", Sendak said to him.  
  
Shiro thought it odd that Sendak needed an explanation, but he provided it anyways. "He's just glad we have a place to look, but to more pressing matters. We should have more people to help us, so I'll invite Pidge and hopefully she'll bring Lance to help with the search."  
  
This made Sendak snort before he spoke his mind about Lance. "Yeah, we need wannabe *hic* wiseass on the case with us."  
  
Shiro glared at Sendak, "I know you're drunk, but stop being a dick about things."  
  
Sendak put his ears down a bit and said, "One sec." He ran to a nearby fence and vomited over it, prompting a worried look from Shiro.  
  
"Shit, Zarkon can you help him? I need to talk to Pidge about this."  
  
Zarkon nodded and went over to Sendak, holding him up to make sure he didn't accidentally fall over the fence into his puke. Shiro called Pidge, who hadn't blocked him after the 'truth or dare' incident.  
  
"Pidge hey, first I need to say, sorry for not calling about the other night, I figured you needed some space. Second thing is that me, Zarkon, and Sendak need your help finding Keith."  
  
"I..sure. That's a bit of a surprise, but I'll manage it. Where are we looking?"  
  
Shiro was glad she didn't hang up on him, and got to the point. "You know Nulsberry park, right? We're pretty sure Keith is there somewhere."   
  
"Oh yeah! I remember that place, I used to swing at the playground there all the time."  
  
"Great, but Pidge, if you've made up with him, can you invite Lance to help us look?" She didn't answer for a few seconds, concerning him enough to bite a nail.  
  
"...Yeah, I guess. Didn't expect him to be on your list of people that could help, but whatever."  
  
Shiro smiled and finished the conversation with her, then hung up.  
  
"Ok you two, let's get rolling!", he said to the galra males.  
  
  
  
  
  
   
They arrived at the park gate and saw Pidge standing there by herself, fiddling with her phone. They shouted greetings to her and she waved in response, slipping the phone into her pocket, and she walked towards them.   
  
"Hey people, Lance should be getting here soon to help, he said he's bringing someone to help too. We may not be able to stay the whole time though, I have work with Lance in a few hours."  
  
"Well the more people we get to spread out through the forest, the better. Even if you can't stay long, we appreciate the help", Shiro said as thanks.  
  
"Especially since I've been *hic* binging a bottle since earlier.", said Sendak with an amused tone.  
  
Pidge looked at him, "Jesus Sendak, why did you get drunk over this?"  
  
Shiro didn't want Sendak to reveal anything while he was still a little wasted, so he spoke for Sendak.  
  
"It's complicated Pidge, something he shouldn't say to the rest of us unless he knows he wants to, not just because he's a little drunk right now."  
  
"Who's getting drunk without me?", said a voice approaching them.  
  
"Lance, it's not that type of party, it's a search party", said an unfamiliar voice.  
  
"I know that Hunk, just saying, I get crazy when drinking."  
  
"You'll have to forgive him, he forgot his ego suppression pills this morning", Lance's friend now known as Hunk said in jest.  
  
Everyone except Lance laughed about it for a second, but then it died down. Shiro went to the gate and called attention to the map, making 3 distinct areas for the rest of the group to see.  
  
"Pidge, Zarkon, you two will search through here. (He pointed to an area on the map); Hunk, lance, you'll patrol in this part right here (He pointed to another part of the map); And Sendak, you and I will look through here (He pointed to the last area on the map). Is everyone clear on the plan?"  
  
Lance spoke up, "Uh, can I trade Hunk for Pidge?"  
  
Everyone gave Lance a 'really dude?' look, signifying that he needed to shut up about it. They all headed out, Lance being the only disappointed one, but he and Hunk helped look regardless of Lance's feelings.  
  
"Keeeith, you hear me mullet buddy?", Lance called out as he looked around the paths.  
  
Hunk gave Lance a questioning look from hearing Keith's nickname. " 'Mullet buddy?' Since when do you have a mullet?"  
  
"Keith is the one with the mullet, I just thought he'd like that nickname."  
  
Hunk sighed, "Lance, your friend is out there, missing for whatever reason. The least you could do is stop joking around right now and seriously look for him."  
  
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Keith! Sorry about calling you mullet!"  
  
"Keith, you don't know me, but if you need a hug I can give you one!", Hunk said in hopes that Keith would come out for a comforting hug.  
  
He then decided to ask Lance why he was really here, "Why did you want to look with Pidge?"  
  
"Man, nice trees here. You think about them?", he said in a poor attempt to divert the question.  
  
Hunk didn't fall for it, slightly glaring in annoyance at his fakely smiling friend. He stopped and put his arms together, giving a stony expression.  
  
"Just tell me why you wanted Pidge with you dude."  
  
Lance whined, "Fiiiine. I wanted to get closer with her, not in that way, but just walking and talking together here, y'know?"  
  
Hunk let out an annoyed grunt, confusing his buddy.  
  
"What? What's wrong with that?"  
  
"It seems a bit selfish to only be doing this in order to talk to Pidge is all."  
  
Lance initially felt like he was put on the spot for no reason, but realized that he was wrong about it.  
  
"Sorry, I'll ask her later once we make sure Keith is safe."  
  
Hunk wanted to drop the subject, "Sure, just focus on finding Keith right now."  
  
________________________________________________________________________________  
   
Zarkon desperately called out to his boyfriend, "Keith, come out please! We're concerned about you! I miss you...."  
  
"There, there. We'll find him big guy", Pidge said as an attempt to soothe him.    
  
Zarkon nodded, continuing to search with his much smaller partner. The light went directly into their eyes, making them squint and move their hands to cover the glare. There was no denying it though, how the sun glimmered through the various trees of the forest was breathtaking at first glance. The two of them had gotten over it quickly, now just annoyed at how blinding it was. Pidge saw a lot of smudge marks highlighted by the setting sun, making a mental note to clean them later when Keith was found.  
  
"Keith! I'll give you free beer! No, wait. Nevermind, bad idea!", she shouted to the forest.  
  
Zarkon looked at her questioningly.  
  
"Sorry, trying to think of something to say to him.."  
  
As she looked, she looked at his freshly stitched face and contemplated how he came to injury. "How did you give yourself such a large cut?"  
  
He spoke quickly, wanting to dedicate the time to the search. "It was a knife accident, I don't wish to discuss it further, let's focus on finding Keith please."  
  
After a few more minutes, he let out a sad sound, "What if he's done something seriously wrong?"  
  
Pidge gave him a sympathetic pat, hoping it would help make him happy.  
  
"Zarkon, I don't think he's done anything like that. Cheer up, we'll find him before anything bad does happen."  
  
Zarkon stopped in place, letting tears stream from his eyes from the thought on Keith's potential fate.  
  
Pidge noticed and did her best to soothe him. "Hey, seriously man. Turn that frown, upside down! Or whatever cheers you up, do you like jokes?" He didn't say anything, but she decided to carry out her plan regardless.  
  
"Why did Susie fall off the swing?....Because she had no arms! HA." His disturbed reaction let her know the joke wasn't the best thing to say to someone who'd never heard these jokes before.  
  
"What, you've never heard a dark joke?"  
  
He started laughing a little, "It just seems a bit grim to be taken as comedy."  
  
She laughed with him, "That's the point of them. It's wrong that you find them funny, but it's just the way it is."  
  
Zarkon wiped some tears from his face, "All right, let's keep searching."  
  
 ------------------------------------  
Sendak stumbled a little behind Shiro, now feeling less wobbly as before. A moan of air was heard through the trees while Shiro looked around, though his boyfriend wasn't keen on helping the search with a headache. In retrospect, it wasn't a smart way to deal with the secret by getting smashed, but he thought it would help him get over it quickly.  
  
"I *hic* think I'm not feeling as tipsy, but I *hic* did drink a lot of vodka", he told his boyfriend.  
  
Shiro groaned, "Was that the only bottle you were drinking?"  
  
"I think *hic* maybe 3 beers from that pack you kept for guests in the fridge."  
  
Shiro smacked his own face with his robotic hand, though lightly as to not cause serious damage. "God, I hope you don't have a bad hangover after this", he said, dragging his boyfriend along.  
  
"Can you *hic* let go of me? I can walk by *hic* myself."  
  
"No, Sendak. You're still messed up from alcohol, so you'll hurt yourself. You're gonna trip over something and knock yourself out, and this will be harder on everyone if that happens."  
  
"Keith, I brought someone here to apologize to you!", he called out.  
  
Sendak put his thoughts forward, "He won't *hic* come out for that. He'll think it's a forced thing, rather than a *hic* genuine apology."  
  
Shiro thought of what to do, then had a great idea pop into his mind. "What if, by pure chance, he was at the spot we were at when we first came here together?", he asked.  
  
"Never hurts to *hic* try.", his boyfriend said with a shrug.  
  
Shiro quickly led Sendak to the spot again, they both hurried past the trees. They silently crept toward the spot, hoping Keith would be sitting there. Miraculously, he was there, though he had sunken shoulders as he stared at the horizon. Shiro smiled, but didn't say anything. He looked at Sendak and darted his eyes at Keith quickly. Sendak raised his robotic arm up in a 'huh?' way and Shiro let out a quiet sigh. Shiro then quietly mouthed 'talk to him' and slowly stepped away from Sendak as quietly as possible.  
_  
'Here goes nothing',_  he wordlessly said to himself. _  
_  
He walked up to Keith, who turned when he heard Sendak's footsteps. Keith had been crying for a bit of time, so he had little of them left by that point.  
  
"What are you doing here, I thought you hated me", Keith said, spitefully looking away.  
  
Sendak sat next to his friend, looking at him with a regretful mind.  
  
"Look, I've been an *hic* asshole today."  
  
Keith singled out the sound of his speech and the hiccuping.  
  
"Have you been drinking?", he asked his somewhat drunken friend.  
  
"A bit, but I'm getting *hic* over it. Shiro didn't want me to get a bad hangover but *hic* it's started already."  
  
Keith didn't know what to say, he didn't think Sendak would be drown his troubles in a bottle.  
  
"Hey..are you alright?"   
  
Sendak started to cry, and leaned heavily on his friend for a hug. Keith accepted it, but struggled to not get squashed. The sudden constriction of his friends muscular arms wasn't making it breathable for him.  
  
"Easy! I can't breathe when you do that."   
  
Sendak held Keith there, making sure not to suffocate him anymore. Keith felt a little overwhelmed by the friendliness, but eventually he grew accustomed to his friend keeping him warm. Eventually Sendak let go, and he began to amend things.  
  
"This is all so messed up. Keith, you're still my best friend. Forget what I said earlier, I just was angry that you didn't tell me before. I didn't tell *hic* tell anyone the personal details besides Shiro, so no one else besides me, you, him, and Zarkon know."  
  
"You mean, you didn't tell everyone?"  
  
"No, it's a relatively *hic* small circle that knows. I'm sorry Keith, for what it's worth to you."  
  
"I forgive you, I just need to find Zarkon and..." Keith felt some shame swell in his mind, and he hid his face in Sendak's arm. His friend let him cry any extra tears he had into his fur, not minding becoming a living rag for the smaller galra.  
  
"I shouldn't have abandoned him, he doesn't need this after all he's done for me", he said, lifting his tear-streaked face to speak.  
  
"Man, I didn't deal with *hic* this in a great way either, you're not a bad person."  
  
Keith wiped his nose, "I don't know why you ever became friends with me dude."  
  
Sendak ruffled his buddy's hair, making him smile. "You're a good friend, you know how to have fun. And Keith, I probably would *hic* crush on you too, given I wasn't dating Shiro that is."  
  
He laughed at Sendak's compliment, "Shut up dude, you're only saying that to make me feel nice."  
  
"I'm serious, and I'm saying this as a *hic* friend. You're cuter than you think, Keith."  
  
Keith smiled, his cheeks turning a darker purple from his kindness. He started to stand up, pulling at Sendak's metallic arm to make him rise as well. The two began their way back towards the park entrance, making comments about the well-lit scenery as they went the well traveled path.  
   
  
  
   
Shiro had gathered everyone else at the park entrance, telling them he and Sendak had found Keith, and that the two friends were privately speaking for the moment.  
  
"Is Keith all right? Was he hurt?", Zarkon urgently asked.  
  
Shiro eased his thinking, "He's fine. Sad of course, but otherwise perfectly healthy."  
  
Zarkon sighed, but walked back and forth in wait for them.  
  
"What exactly happened between those two?", Pidge asked.  
  
Shiro explained as little as possible, he didn't want the details to spread around. "They had fought about something personal, and it didn't end well. Sendak got really drunk, which you all saw, and we know what Keith did, not that he's wrong in that, I would want to be alone too."  
  
She nodded, "They better not stop their bromance, that would suck."  
  
Shiro and Zarkon both cringed at hearing 'bromance', now that it had a different meaning for Keith. Pidge didn't know why Shiro looked uncomfortable all of a sudden.  
  
"Hey, is something wrong?", she asked.  
  
"Nothing, just related to the personal thing", he told her.  
  
"Got it, won't ask anymore about this then." She brought up a different topic to make some small talk, and to hopefully not offend anyone.  
  
Lance, who was far enough from them, was looking at her in the meantime. Lance couldn't help it, her hair was done in a nice way, her face looked adorable, and her feistiness was the perfect counter to Lance's sarcastic attitude. In his mind, they were made for each other. Hunk didn't like it, and got to reprimanding Lance immediately.  
  
"You take this concern over Keith's whereabouts and you make it about wanting to kiss Pidge. Lance, seriously, stop staring", he ordered.  
  
"I can't help it, she's just....*siiigh*." Lance made a mock fall, which further irritated his friend. Hunk knocked his head against a lamppost, grumbling about the way his friend acted, when suddenly Lance called out to his crush.  
  
"Hey Pidge! C'mere a second will ya?" Pidge looked at him, excused herself from Shiro, and started walking to them.  
  
Hunk began a complaint, "Dude, what are you-"   
  
"Hunk, please go find another lamppost to bang your head against", Lance told him in a not so subtle tone. As Hunk muttered angry rants to himself while he walked away from Lance, Pidge arrived to his spot and crossed her arms.

"Yes Lance? Also next time try not to interrupt me when I'm talking to somebody else, I know it must be hard for you to resist being rude."  
  
He brushed off the comment, then cleared his throat to make sure he wouldn't mess up, and he spoke with confidence.  
  
"Pidge, will you go out on a date with me, preferably sometime this week?"  
  
She made a 'really?' face, then began laughing. Lance frowned and looked annoyed at it, he didn't realize how she found it funny. "What? I wasn't joking with you Pidge."  
  
She stopped laughing and looked at him sternly. "You only came because you wanted to ask me out, didn't you?", she accused.  
  
"No, maybe. Definitely a maybe, but not a yes", he said, unsure if that was the right answer.  
  
She kept her hard stare, waiting for his excuse, and he quickly attempted to make himself look better than how he presented himself.  
  
"It's not just that, I was worried about Keith too, I even brought Hunk to help look for him. I just also saw it as an opportunity to, ask you?"  
  
She sighed, "Whatever, I'll think about it at work tonight. And don't tell anyone else about this, it won't look good on you."  
  
And with that sentence, she walked back to Shiro, who was currently talking with Zarkon. Lance made stupid noises again, looking at her hair blowing in the wind, and Hunk came up next to him, lowering his mouth and scowling at Lance's antics.  
  
"You're kind of a dork, no, scratch that, you're really dorky", he said to the love struck Lance.

  
  
  
As she got closer to Zarkon and Shiro, she heard some of their conversation, damning as the words were.  
  
"-not sure if he likes him back, I don't-hey Pidge." Shiro had noticed her approaching, and she was curious about what she overheard. Though it was a snippet of a sentence, it didn't spell out great tidings from her point of view.  
  
"Is everything ok between you and Sendak?", she asked.  
  
Shiro looked to the side, his arms crossed while he thought about his future with his boyfriend. "It's complicated Pidge..........really complicated."  
  
"If you don't mind, I wish to continue a talk with Shiro privately", Zarkon told her as a polite dismiss.  
  
"Sure, sorry. Let me know when you're done talking I guess", and she backed away to text some of her friends. When she was far enough from them and no longer paying attention, Zarkon resumed his conversation with Shiro.  
  
"I'm sure that Sendak still wants to be with you, I don't think he would abandon you for Keith. Keith doesn't even want Sendak for a relationship anymore, so you have nothing to worry about", he said, hoping it would make Shiro less unsettled by everything.  
  
"I just, there's no way I know for certain. You tell me Keith shouldn't try anything but Sendak, I mean he told me he loves me and no one else will come between that, but-",  
  
Zarkon put his hand on Shiro's shoulder. "You have your answer there, he wants to be with you, though what he does with you isn't my business really."  
  
Shiro laughed, "Yeah, he's pretty bold sometimes about certain, well private actions." He broke away from his conversation, and began to pace. He glanced over at the park gate, and saw Keith and Sendak walking down. He smiled and directed Zarkon's attention to the return of his boyfriend.  
  
"Keith! Are you alright? Are you hurt?", he said as he got on his knees to look at Keith's face.  
  
"I'm fine, I'm sorry for leaving earlier, I shouldn't make you worry", he said, the words gently flowing.  
  
Zarkon tugged him in for a kiss, which he happily granted to his boyfriend. In Keith's mind, he owed any time he had to Zarkon, for a while at least.  
  
Keith parted from his lips, "I missed you too."  
  
Zarkon held him there, leaning his head on Keith's shoulder. Sendak stood next to Shiro and put his arm around his boyfriend, while Pidge, Lance, and Hunk observed from behind.  
  
"All thanks to the efforts of the Earth trio", Lance said to himself.  
  
Pidge and Hunk gave him disappointed looks, but the other four didn't hear his tasteless comment.  
  
"You really know how to sweeten up a moment, don't you Lance?", Pidge said with a mock tone.  
  
Lance stretched his fingers out in front of himself, "Just here to cheer up a bad situation."  
  
She groaned, "Please just stop talking."  
  
Hunk put in his two cents about the reunion of the two galra, "Besides your poor choice of words, this moment is one of the purest things I've ever seen, it's so cute!" He squealed a little while staring at the lovebirds, locking his hands together and holding them up.  
  
Lance grinned at Hunk, "Better than when you met Shay?"  
  
Hunk smacked Lance, making him let out a small cry from the force of his friends hand.  
  
"Don't talk about my perfect marriage with your jokey ways."  
  
Suddenly, Shiro was pulling Sendak away through the human trio. "Excuse us, we need to talk privately for a second", he told them.  
  
Lance gave Shiro a wondering look, "What's up with him?"  
  
  
  
What was up with Shiro was that he was unclear on Sendak's feelings at the moment. They went away behind a thicker tree in order to talk, but they still remained in sight. Shiro checked their distance to make sure it seemed far enough from the others in order to keep their conversation private.    
  
"Sendak, be honest with me. Do you feel anything, anything at all, for him?", Shiro asked his partner.  
  
Sendak scratched his chin, "Let me *hic* check in my mind....nope." He laughed, but Shiro wasn't amused.  
  
"I need you to be honest with me, do you like him?"  
  
"No, Shiro. As a friend, yes, I like hanging out with him, but romance *hic* wise, not really." He knelt down and grabbed Shiro's hand.  
  
"My one true love, let me take *hic* thy hand. And also to stoppeth this hiccup-eth"  
  
"What the hell are you doing?", Shiro asked, his face giving a mixture of question and amusement.  
  
"I'm courting you, in the style of some *hic* story by a guy named Shakspur, I think?" He kissed each of Shiro's fingers, but his boyfriend was trying to hide his laughter from Sendak. His amusement died down, and he corrected the unaware galra.  
  
"That would be 'Shakespeare', the correct way to say his name f.y.i. Now stop acting so weird, you've proven your..", he waved his hands in a dismissive way, "whatever the hell that corny show meant to prove."  
  
"Love, that would be love." Sendak pulled him down and took Shiro for his own.  
  
"Mmmmmmok", Shiro stopped the public kissing, "not too much around other people."  
  
What happened next was a surprise for him. Sendak maintained his kneel and requested something that usually happened much later in a relationship.  
  
"Would you be *hic* my life mate?"  
  
Shiro's cheeks turned bright red, and he breathed a bit faster than usual for the usual human rate. Sendak was kept waiting on an answer, while his lovers mouth was left open in a happy shape. He was wondering how he should respond, and decided to let Sendak down gently.  
  
"Sendak...I don't know how to feel right now. I've only known you for less than a week, don't you think you're jumping into this a bit quickly?"  
  
"Is this too soon by Earth *hic* relationship standards?" His ears lowered in disappointment.  
  
"I'm afraid so, I'm sorry. Being a life mate, or marriage as we say, I don't know if I should right now. I love you, but I need time to consider this." He rubbed Sendak's face in hopes it would comfort him. "Besides, you're still hung up on the depression drinking, so that's probably clouding your judgement in actions."  
  
"Heh heh, 'hung'." His emphasizing had successfully offended the human, making him smack his own forehead.  
  
"You stop, or else it's not the bed tonight. Now let's go, we've been standing here long enough." Shiro took his potential husband's robotic hand, massive as it was, and started walking back to the others with him.  
  
  
Zarkon was sitting on a bench, moving his hand over Keith as he purred. His boyfriend was evidently tired, resting his head on Zarkon's leg as they sat there, waiting for the other couple to stop talking. Soon enough, Keith had to be stirred awake due to Sendak and Shiro re-entering the group. Everyone said their goodbyes and went back to their lives. Sendak and Shiro went to his apartment, where they went to sleep immediately. Zarkon and Keith went back to his condo, and they held each other closely through the night. Hunk went home to have dinner with his wife, telling everyone how eager he was to eat her stew. Pidge and Lance didn't get the luxury of relaxation, and both headed to their job.  
  
  
  
At the bar, Lance was working with Pidge, waiting (impatiently) for an answer from her regarding the date. The night had been the usual, some people getting tipsy, others flat out wasted, and there was even a rare vomiter. The difference in that night was the way that Lance's regular routine was being destroyed by Pidge. She had been messing with him more than the normal rate that night, teasing him in front of his customers and intentionally giving drinks to people that Lance wished to serve. He was getting a bit fed up with her, but tried to forget about that while he poured a man his drink. He made a show of it, moving the glass with the direction he poured, and he was proud after he finished.  
  
"And that's how you pour whiskey!", Lance enthusiastically told the customer he was serving.  
  
"Don't mind him, he does this whole 'I'm good at drink tricks' thing for everyone", Pidge chimed in.  
  
The customer put a hand over their mouth, to cover a smile. Lance let out a long sigh, then excused himself from the customer. "Let me know if you want anything else to drink sir", he said as cheery as possible. Once he turned around, he dropped the fake smile and walked over to Pidge, frowning while she acted happy and went about with her work.   
  
"Is it just in your interest to screw up my alcohol sales tonight?", he said.  
  
"Maybe, you do it to me all the time sooooooo", she poked his shoulder with her rag, "consider this a bit of overdue payback."  
  
He grumbled a little at the wet spot it left on his shirt, "You're not gonna get away with this, Holt."  
  
"Yes I am, because if I don't get to tease you in revenge tonight, you don't get to go on a date with me." She continued to wash her empty glasses for new customers as she let that sink in for him.  
  
"Wait, so it's a yes then?", he said with wide eyes.  
  
"It might be, if you're good and don't complain about me cracking jokes at your expense for a change."  
  
"I knew you couldn't resist saying no to this package." He was pointing a thumb at his arm, trying his best to flex the muscles.  
  
She looked at his shit-eating grin and decided to shut him down. "You're really making me lean back and forth between yes and no now, I suggest you stop being so smug about this."  
  
Lance dropped his attitude and went back to his work.  _'_ _You're gonna get the time of your life, Holt',_ he  couldn't help but try to think of a good place to take her. The rest of his shift was focused half on customer's, and half on potentially good date locations.  _'Wait a minute, Pidge likes games, there's an arcade nearby!',_ his mind said. And with that, he was prepared to take Pidge for a great time, that is, if she wanted to go on the date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this chapter, I'm gonna change the title because the current one would be more accurate for a one-shot story :/  
> I'll also go back and change the writing style, the dialogue really needs to be indented to prevent confusion, sorry about that. I'm gonna remove the galra keith tag in the meantime, it doesn't need to be cluttered by every edit I make for already posted chapters. The sendak/shiro tag doesn't update so frequently, so I'll keep it there while I fix the story.


	7. How to underestimate a girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro talks with Sendak about his drunken talks, and Lance has his date with Pidge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is mostly focusing on Pidge and Lance's date sorry, but there is one important thing before that just so you know.

Sendak awoke with an aching in his forehead, such was the fate of anyone who went crazy with a bottle. He rubbed his temple a bit, grumbling before sitting up. Looking to the side, he found Shiro's empty spot, but he heard someone in the kitchen. He got out of bed to investigate, yawning and scratching his head while he walked to the kitchen. Oddly enough, his boyfriend wasn't at work, but instead cooking up something for breakfast, some sort of circular thing made from a mix Shiro had poured into the pan. Then Sendak got a little idea in his mind, and he started to sneak towards his lovely cook. He was getting a bit closer, nearly there, he could almost touch his head.  
  
"I can hear you walking, you're not fooling me", Shiro said, disappointing Sendak a little.  
  
"Damn, would've been funny to sneak up on you while you're making..whatever that thing is. Smells good though."  
  
He got behind Shiro, who was still flipping the circle food, and started rubbing his shoulders. He leaned his head down to whisper in his ear, "Thanks for making breakfast, beautiful."  
  
"You're welcome teddy bear", he said in response, receiving a kiss on the cheek from Sendak.  
  
Sendak sat down at the kitchen table, thinking over yesterday's events. He made up with Keith, had a talk with Shiro, and then asked him to be a lifemate. Wait, what?  _'Gods, we've only been dating for a couple of days, he thinks I'm an idiot now',_ he thought. Then again, he wouldn't be a bad lifemate, especially considering his cooking. Sendak imagined it for a moment, a life with him. They could grow older together, be with each other to the end, get some kids along the way, who knows. But that was just an imaginary situation, his partner wasn't nearly ready to consider that yet. Or so he thought.  
  
Shiro turned from his pancakes for a second, "Listen, you mentioned something to me last night. You were kinda drunk, so maybe that made you say something you wouldn't have otherwise."  
  
Sendak became worried,  _'He's gonna mention the lifemate thing, godsdamnit Sendak why did you have to get drunk?',_ his mind said.  
  
"You mentioned something along the lines of marriage, though you said something else to describe it, a lifemate?", he asked, flipping the circular thing in the pan.  
  
Sendak scratched his head, "Yeah, sorry about that. I made a bad decision yesterday, you're not ready to hear that question yet. I didn't mean to ask so soon."  
  
Shiro smiled, "Meaning you would've asked eventually, rather than last night?"  
  
"I...guess so? Why do you ask?", he said, not knowing what Shiro was getting at.  
  
"This is a sudden question for both of us", he gathered some of the circles onto a plate, "but I like that you wanted to marry me, however under the influence of vodka you were."  
  
"So you're not freaked out by the question? Because I was afraid you'd break up with me."  
  
Shiro put a circle on Sendak's plate, pouring something brown over it. "I'm not gonna break up with you over what you said in a different state of thinking, that would be stupid. Oh, and this food is called a pancake, or rather pancakes. That stuff on it is called syrup, and it tastes good, believe me."  
  
Sendak didn't doubt him, but he underestimated how good it would be. The 'pancake', as Shiro called it, tasted warm, and was soft to bite into. It was made better with the sweet taste of the syrup on top of it, making Sendak's taste buds become very happy. He let out a familiar "mmm" sound as he chewed, and quickly ate the rest of the pancake, making Shiro give him a few more.  
  
"I'm glad you like it", he said, rubbing the galra's fluffy ears before going to clean up with the dishes.  
  
Soon Sendak finished eating, and went to take a shower, feeling happy from Shiro's meal, and a little happy with life itself. Finishing up, he wrapped himself in towels and went outside the bathroom, where Shiro was waiting, with a smile on his face. He was up to something, he had one of his hands hidden behind his back. Then he knelt as he began speaking.  
  
"I know I didn't exactly say yes to you", he revealed the other hand, a ring in Sendak's size.  
  
"So will you marry me instead?", he held it up closer, hope in his eyes.  
  
Sendak was surprised again, the human was being serious about this. His regular eye kept blinking at it, like it was fake. He moved a finger to touch it, it was real all right, he wasn't making this up in his head. He slipped his finger onto it, it fit perfectly, he didn't know how Shiro got it in his size so soon. His proposer was still waiting for an answer, waiting patiently until he spoke up.  
  
"Do you need time to consider it?", he asked the galra, worrying a little if he didn't want to jump into this too soon.  
  
Sendak stopped looking dumbfounded, and began to smile. He took Shiro's hands, covering the ring with his palms.  
  
"I'll gladly be with you for the rest of my days."  
  
Shiro yelled something, he was happy, and Sendak was happy too. He took the opportunity to lean down, taking the human in his arms, putting their lips together in the moment. They stood there another moment, before Shiro felt something push against him. He looked down, finding a tent in the towels, and looked back at his now fiance with a dirty smile.  
  
"Someone needs a bit of help", he said, tracing his fingers across Sendak's nose.  
  
"Well, maybe someone can help me", Sendak returned, rubbing Shiro's arm.  
  
"I think I can help you there", and he led Sendak into the bedroom next to them, celebrating with him for the rest of the day.  
  
  
  
  
*Later that night*  
  
  
  
  
Lance had been nervous since he'd woken up. His date with Pidge was in a few minutes, he didn't know what was right. He told her it was a surprise location, how smart of him. He forgot about that, putting on some cologne he bought, spraying it a little too strong. He looked into the mirror at himself. Though not the strongest guy, his thin figure was a cute one. He brushed the hair in front up, trying to make it stay that way, failing miserably since it refused each time he tried. He didn't focus on that longer, looking at his clothes. They were as casual as they usually were, a regular jacket, a t-shirt, and a pair of skinny jeans. Then he heard the doorbell, his date had arrived.  
  
_'Get ready, she's probably wearing a tank top',_ his mind said.  
  
Oh how wrong he was.  
  
She was NOT dressed casually, as he previously expected. She was wearing a bright green dress, beautiful on her. Her hair was let out long ways, no ponytail or anything. It wasn't a casual friday outfit. Ergo, not suited for an arcade. If he could guess correctly, she's probably expected him to be wearing a nice suit. Then they would go out to a good restaurant he'd reserved a table for, have a pricier meal than usual of the two. But he wasn't wearing a suited outfit, and they weren't going to be drinking fine wine. They would just be going to a normal, boring arcade.  
  
"Piiiiiddddgggeee, it's so....great to see you. The dress looks great."  
  
She smiled, "Thanks, dolled myself up real nice, didn't I."  
  
He awkwardly smiled back, "Yeah, you did. And I look so normal becauseeeeee......my suit got ripped."  
  
She was concerned, "What? What happened?"  
  
He thought up a quick lie, "Cat. My cat, adopted it a few days ago. I left my clothes on the floor, he got to it. I returned him, so that's why he isn't here."  
  
She frowned slightly, "Well now he doesn't have an owner anymore. You never mentioned the adoption to me."  
  
_'Damn it, she has to press into the thing, doesn't she?',_ his mind said.  
  
"Wellllll, I just wanted to test it. Keep it secret, now the very......fluffy cat is back to the pound."  
  
She crossed her arms, "Lance, I know you're lying. Cut the bullshit."

He sighed and scratched behind his head, "I don't have a suit, at all. Or a cat, but that doesn't matter. I saw your dress and thought you'd wonder why I didn't dress up."  
  
She smiled, "Wait, that's what you were getting so nervous over? I don't care how you dress dude. I mean, you  _would_ look nice in a tie, but your clothes are good too. Let's just get there, I want to know what's in store."  
  
He told the next part like he believed it, "Believe me, it's a very good establishment. Well-respected, and their food is liked by many."  
  
She scoffed, "Yeah, nice description there."  
  
He could only describe it as nice as he could. What would she think if he talked about pizza that was ok at best, or shitty nachos? He tried his best to forget that as they walked along, the store fronts lighting up everything as they passed them. Pidge even stopped a few times to look at something that caught her eye, such as a poster for an upcoming game. Lance enjoyed those stops, they made the wait for the arcade longer. Soon she made conversation about his jacket.  
  
"So, do you just wear that thing every day?"  
  
Lance looked at his jacket, "This? Oh, well, as much as I can. It's my lucky charm! I got my first kiss with this, and hopefully a first successful date."  
  
She snorted, "Successful date? What happened with your other ones."  
  
He looked to the side and glared, "I don't wanna talk about it."  
  
"Well, now I do want to ask about it, but why don't you tell me more about how you pull that look off?"  
  
He blushed, "Well, I wash the jacket when it smells really bad. I mean, that's normal laundry for anyone, I'm stupid. But I usually get it back on within the same day of washing."  
  
She moved a hand down one of the arms of it, "It suits you really well."  
  
He couldn't speak initially, he hadn't expected her to like it so much. The lightest touch from her, not even a grip of the arm but as a slight feeling, it put butterflies in him.  
  
"Do you think you want to...feel my arm more?"  
  
"HA, not this time, buddy. That's for when we're really dating", she made a suggestive look with that.  
  
Lance stopped for a minute, letting her ahead of him, "Did you say 'when we're dating'?"  
  
She turned her head around, "I'll let you think about if I did or not. Now catch up, we still gotta get to this place."  
  
Unfortunately for Lance, this place was now much closer than he'd realized. He looked slightly ahead, it was within 500 feet, and moving foot by foot nearer every second they walked. He forced a smile again, though his sadness accompanied with that didn't help the matter. They arrived in front of it, Lance stopping and making Pidge stop with him as well. She looked at him in wait for him to say something, perhaps a reason why they weren't continuing on towards uptown where all the nicer restaurants were.  
  
He raised a shaky hand to the left of him, "H-here's the date..."  
  
She only looked up at it, blinking a few times, staring at the "MIKE'S ARCADE" sign with a neutral expression. There was nothing from her, nothing at all. Lance's mind began to panic, surely she was in disbelief at this. That's why she was staring at it for so long, she wondered if he was going to say it was a joke. But he couldn't say that, and so he turned around in frustration. Now after this, he was gonna be 'Lance, the arcade guy. Beware of dates with him'. He moved a hand up to his head, angry at himself for doing such a stupid idea. Then a voice interrupted him.  
  
"Lance? Are we going inside?"  
  
He turned around, stunned in silence from her normal reaction to an arcade.  
  
She looked a little concerned, "Dude, are you alright?"  
  
"You're not....mad at me for taking you to an arcade?", he moved a nail to his mouth.  
  
She laughed, "Is that what you're worried about? I love the arcade, I haven't been here in a while so it's good to refresh my skills."  
  
He looked at her dress, "And..that's not bad for this place?"  
  
Her mouth frowned in annoyance, "Is my dress not good in your eyes?"  
  
"I just....thought you don't want it in.....an arcade?"  
  
She took his hand, "Shut up and play games with me."  
  
He complied, following her through the door to look at everything. It was a variety of futuristic games, with a mix of older ones as well. They even had some classic game machines, of some of the very first ones to make arcades popular. They couldn't be the originals of course, only mere replicas, as maintaining an original would be far too expensive for a local business. There was one where someone would fight a holographic opponent with someone of their own, putting on little gear making the fighter mimic their every move, allowing you to see through its eyes. For now though, Lance still needed to get them a game card. He wouldn't use it on anything he wanted, just for what Pidge was interested in playing. Because he thought of himself as a gentleman for doing that, not as a self-serving 'good guy' technique. Sure. He didn't like question the validity of his actions too long.  
  
"So, what should we play first, lady?"  
  
She made a small laugh, "Well, 'guy', if that's what we're doing now, how about some classic skeeball?"  
  
He looked over to find them, and saw them in his sights. He walked over, Pidge trailing behind closely. He swiped his card on the machine, putting a few points into it and making some balls pour down on the side for use.  
  
"Ok, let me show you just how well I can do this."  
  
He took one of the balls out of the little container for them, taking a step back. He pulled an arm back, and brought it forth to make a smooth sailing for the ball. It sailed down the little aisle, speeding faster towards the holes. Then it leaped upwards off the little ramp at the end, going to one of the corners. An instant 200 points, it was so close to hitting inside it.  
  
And then it hit the side and went into the 10 point hole.  
  
Lance whined, "Why are these games rigged..."  
  
Pidge took a ball, "Watch and learn."  
  
She didn't even put effort into it, almost throwing it down the aisle. It even bounced as it went down it, sort of slowing it down a little. It sailed upwards, surely it wouldn't go in anything worthwhile to him. It would just hit the ceiling of the game, and bounce down to get 10 more points.  
  
And then it went in the center for 100 points.  
  
She inspected her fingernails, "These babies haven't even been dusted off for this in 5 months."  
  
Lance couldn't believe it, "I don't even- how do you just do that so effortlessly?"  
  
She poked his arm, "That's a trade secret, not for free."  
  
He looked at his game card, "Well, what would make you teach me?"  
  
She kept playing as she spoke, "A race. Garrison League, after all these balls are finished."  
  
She was good at this, they almost never went into the minimum point hole. In fact, only one ever did, making Pidge put more care in her lazy shots that got the better points. More in the center, a few in the corners, it was like nothing to her. It was like a normal thing to her, Lance watched as ball after ball got in the best holes. All in all she made the two of them 2500 points, much, much higher than Lance's personal record when he played this game.  
  
He kneeled down to collect the tickets and turned to Pidge, "Geez, how'd you get so good?"  
  
She pushed her glasses up, "Lots of practice. And being by myself for the most part of a 3 year period during high school."  
  
He had quite a few tickets in his hand, "Well, I hope you're as good at the rest of these as you are here."  
  
She took his game card, "Yeah, I can be. For example, I'll show a particularly tricky one for most people."  
  
They stopped in front of a machine where you dropped a ball into a hole for points. It had to be released at a very specific time and even then it could bounce away from it's intended target. He looked at the cost of the game, 12 credits. He hoped that she wouldn't waste those, the game card wasn't a particularly high package one. She was calm as it started up, the holes moving clockwise below a pink ball. Pidge had her eyes on a particular rainbow entry, one that would get a jackpot. She watched it move to just the right area, and released the ball. It fell in within 3 seconds, never missing it's target, never bouncing slightly, an error-free drop. The tickets began pouring out to Lance's surprise, he looked as the jackpot counted down from 500 tickets. He was gonna have to carry a lot of tickets, but if she managed to win herself something nice, it would be worth it.  
  
"You weren't kidding, you're the best player I've ever seen!", he said, tickets printing out of the machine rapidly.  
  
She looked around for new games to play, "Yeah, I get that a lot. Now to do that race I mentioned."  
  
She walked over to Garrison League, a game about secret racing at a piloting school. That was pretty much the entire story of it, the rest was just pure adrenaline based competition. There was a hoverboard to stand on, you leaned left and right to control it. Though it could move left and right, and a little forwards and backwards, it couldn't go anywhere outside of a certain area. If you were heavy enough, it would go out of bounds, so there was a weight limit on it. This wasn't a problem for the two of them however, both under 200 pounds and possibly lower than 170 for Pidge.  
  
"So, is this game your favorite?", he asked her.  
  
She swiped the card through a scanner, "Yeah, it's pretty great. It's not just the racing, you notice little details in the background relating to the lore and-"  
  
She heard Lance scream, he was struggling to get on the hoverboard without slipping it too far to the right or left. The result was falling flat on his hands, looking at the miniature hoverboard in defeat. It waved wildly each time he stepped on it the wrong way, he obviously never played it beforehand.  
  
"Is this gonna be a problem?", she said, standing over him after he fell.  
  
He started to slowly put himself on the board, "Of course not, I know exactly how to get on this."  
  
It only continued to move a little crazier, wobbling more and more as he moved onto it. Suddenly, it stopped moving, and Lance could get on it easily. He congratulated himself, standing up on it, then look over to see Pidge pressing a button labeled 'Steady Gameboard'. He stood in silence as she did the same for her board, and felt the superiority emanating from her. He resolved to end this by beating her at a few races. He chose a hard course, Pidge surely would have as hard a time as Lance would.  
  
He spoke to her as the game counted from 10, "Get ready."  
  
She stared at her screen, glasses glowing from the reflection, "Ready to win? Of course I am, little baby player."  
  
He wasn't paying attention to the countdown, "What kind of insult is that?"  
  
She was moving her board as she spoke, "The kind you say to someone that doesn't even know when the race starts."  
  
He looked sharply at his screen, he was left at the starting line. He leaned forward on his board, making himself accelerate more.  
  
"Damnitdamnitdamnit", he said, trying to get out of 11th place.  
  
Pidge was far ahead and still gloated, "Keep complaining, it only makes me better."  
  
But Lance was focused on his objective, he would catch up no matter what. Using a series of well placed boosts, along with some extra one's from power ups, he slowly moved up in ranking from 11th to 8th. Flying past one student, 7th. Hitting another with a garrison bat, 6th. Soaring past a slow boarder, 5th. Using an engine failure device on someone, 4th. Managing to get more boost pads than another, 3rd. Just managing to go past the next, 2nd. Soon he was neck and neck with Pidge, impressive for his first time playing. Surprisingly, she started to slow down, making him brag of course.  
  
"What's the matter, don't like winning anymore?"  
  
She let herself get passed by into 3rd place, "You and that guy can both go up in flames for all I care."  
  
He looked at his avatar, "Go up in the what now?"  
  
There was an item, a seeker missile designed for first place that was given to those much farther behind. In the right hands, it could make you catch up and win the day for yourself. To simple minds, they hoped to cut their losses and attempt to catch back up into 1st place. To more clever minds, they would purposely put themselves behind others in order to temporarily lower their ranking, making them a safe target. The former was the case for Lance, he tried anything to avoid it, but he didn't have the specific means to do it. It hit his board, destroying it until he got back in the race 5 seconds later. It caught the a.i. in 2nd place as well, meaning Pidge was free to jump right back to her winning position. Lance tried his best, he moved his ranking up from 7th to the higher.....6th. By this point in the race it was too late to catch himself up, so he was forced to accept that position. While a crowd cheered for Pidge and her character held up a trophy, Lance's was booed and had tomatoes thrown at him.  
  
He stepped off the board, "Stupid hoverboarding bullshit, if this was a motorbike I would've beat you."  
  
She pointed to the left of her as she stepped off her hoverpad, "Those are over there. And don't kid yourself, I've mastered everything here."  
  
_'Oh really? Well, let's find out if there's anything new lately',_ his mind said.  
  
"I gotta go to the restroom, use that if you want on some other games, try not to outspend it."  
  
She went towards a basketball game, "Sure thing, salt-lord."  
  
Technically he would be heading towards the restroom based on the way he was walking, but that was only a half-truth. In reality, he would be going to the game desk right next to the bathrooms, conveniently out of sight from Pidge and her all-seeing glasses. If he could just find out there was one game, just one unheard of game for her, that would be his big chance. He got the attention of the employee at the desk, she was rearranging some stuffed animals before he came up to her.  
  
"Ma'am, can I ask you a question?"  
  
She turned her head from a large elephant plushy, "Oh, sorry sir. Is there something you need to know?"  
  
He leaned forward on the desk, "Got any new games here recently? Past couple of months by chance?"  
  
She put a hand on her side, looking upwards in thought until she found an answer. "Well, there is one. A dance game, 'Dance Prance Mania'?"  
  
"Oh, that's perfect for me. Thanks, I'll be back later with some tickets."  
  
She turned back to the plushies while keeping her head trained at Lance, "No problem. If you need anything else, let me know."  
  
He walked towards his date with a devious smile, he knew something she didn't, and it was to his advantage in more than one way. For one, Pidge was guaranteed to have never practiced with this one yet. And two, Lance was a great dancer, even Pidge saw him a few times. If this game was like any he'd played before, it would go naturally for him. He got her attention while she played a coin-dropping game.  
  
"Hey, I got a game we can try", he told her with a stupid grin.  
  
"Oh yeah? What's gonna be added on the list of 'kicking your ass'?", she said, holding the game card in one hand, tapping fingers on the machine with her other.  
  
"That's for me to know", he led her towards the game, "and for you to despairingly find out."  
  
She laughed lightly, "Yeah, like anything can-", she stopped speaking at the sight of it.  
  
Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no. That was not what she was good at, her dancing wasn't very good, by others observations and by self-testimony. If she was going to do this, she'd mess it up and look ridiculous in the process. She wouldn't hear the end of it from him if she played, she had to get out of it somehow. She looked at the game next to it, a shooting game. She walked towards that as if that was what he meant, but her date's voice interrupted her walk.  
  
"And just where do you think you're going?"  
  
She turned around, a nervous smile on her, "T-to 'The manor of the undead' of course."  
  
He put a hand on his forehead, shaking his face. "It was a good try, but you can't avoid this."  
  
He stepped on his arrow patterned game floor, it had eight different arrows, much to Pidge's dismay. She had no chance of getting used to that in one game, neither did Lance really, but he could do better with his footstepping experience. She went up on her game floor, hoping he would make it easy on them both. But he chose an extreme difficulty, he wasn't going to make it easy on her. It was fair in a way, she didn't hold back on her hoverboard, he wouldn't do the same here. She dreaded the arrows that would come soon.  
  
'DANCERS, GET THOSE FEET READY, GOOO'  
  
Lance wasn't exactly having an easy time with it, but he adapted well to it. He wasn't doing the best possible score, but managing to keep himself an average one was impressive for someone who just found out that game was in the arcade. Pidge on the other hand was struggling to keep herself from being disqualified. As she tried to time one arrow to step on, she missed many others. Soon enough, her character was booed offstage by the audience. Lance ended up keeping the attention of half the audience, a final C-grade as a result. He looked over to Pidge, and sure enough, she looked annoyed at her loss.  
  
"What's that I remember you saying? Playing against me you were going to 'kick my ass'?"  
  
She grabbed the game card from his hands, "Yeah, whatever. It was my first time playing."  
  
Lance taunted her, "Oh is that so, Ms. game master? It was my first time as well."  
  
She walked off with a quip, "Bet there's another thing you still haven't done for the first time."  
  
His face became offended, "Hey! Get back here and play games with me!"  
  
She turned a corner and hid out of sight. Lance walked past with an annoyed look, speaking who knows what to himself. Pidge only made her way around the arcade like that, hiding from him, giving the occasional look to Lance from across the room. By the time he went where he saw her, she would've vanished by then. It was a little childish of her, to be hiding from him at her age, but at least she wasn't going all out by ducking under machines. Finally she saw something familiar and went to swipe the game card on it. To her side she saw Lance running towards her and catching his breath once he caught up.  
  
"You...are not....being...fun", he said, leaning himself on the skeeball machine.  
  
She picked up a few balls in her hands, "Oh, well I thought it was. But I don't feel like fighting about it anymore, let's just play something we both enjoy."  
  
She handed him a couple of balls, and he smiled. Though Lance wasn't the best at it, there was a certain charm in getting slightly better with each new set of balls from the card. Pidge was as good as ever, her being the reason they got most of their tickets from it. There was one instance where she got 50 points from one hole, much to her own disappointment, but Lance made up for it by managing to hit a corner shot. That and Pidge assisted him like she said, teaching him the right angle to use his arm, how to make it go down the aisle with just enough speed. After enough games their card ran out of points, and they took their hard-earned tickets to a ticket-counter.  
  
Pidge pushed them all into the machine, "I hope this is enough for something."  
  
The tickets soared into it as they were pressed in. It was an interesting sight, watching a whole stack of tickets zoom into it like it was nothing. Their ticket pile was getting smaller, while their count displayed through the machine was becoming higher. Soon the very last ticket went through, 5372 all in all for the both of them. But Lance didn't want to get anything, he figured Pidge would want to get a game that was on display for 5000 tickets at the front desk. When they walked up to it, she looked at the game for a few moments. Then her gaze turned to a different prize, a super soaker for 2500 tickets.  
  
"I'll take that please", she said, eager to get her hands on it.  
  
Lance stared between her and the game, "I don't get it. What's your angle?"  
  
She took the prize in her hands, "Your question here being what, exactly?"  
  
"You don't wanna get Madden '37?", he pointed at it.  
  
She frowned slightly, "God no, you buy one of those, you've bought them all."  
  
She gave him a ticket coupon with the rest of their tickets on it, it was good for any other trips in the next 6 months.  
  
"Keep it, you bought it, you take it home."  
  
He put it back in her free hand, "I can't take it from a beautiful girl like you."  
  
She frowned, but she also blushed. "I hate it when guys act nice just because I'm a girl."  
  
Lance pointed to her cheeks, "But your face-"

"I know what my face is doing! Don't point it out!"  
  
On their way back to her house, they got some chinese take-out. Lance got as much as his container would let him carry away, getting lots of meat, a few vegetables, and only a little bit of rice. Pidge meanwhile, got as much rice as she could, with only a few pieces of broccoli and chicken to accompany it. Lance made sure he was the one that paid, out of some sense of chivalry to a slightly annoyed Pidge. It was a short way back to her door, and they got there within 20 minutes of leaving the restaurant. Lance ate quickly while Pidge preferred to take in her meal's goodness slowly. She finished soon enough though, and Lance began to get up towards the door.  
  
"Well, since we've eaten and all that, I'm gonna head home. Thanks for the date", he said.  
  
She smiled and went near the door where he was, "Yeah, I had a lot of fun. But before you go, there's one more thing."  
  
"Yeah, what's that? More jokes or-", she pulled him in for a kiss.  
  
His eyes stayed open in shock from the touch of her lips, and his face lit up immediately. He didn't mind it, but it was still unexpected for his first date. Then again, the two were building up to ask one another out, so maybe they'd both been wanting that too. He decided that was the case, closed his eyes, and just enjoyed the moment with his date. He had to stop it though, he still had to get home.  
  
"I- thanks Pidge. But I really gotta get going", he started to turn the knob, but her hand slowly turned it back into it's original place.  
  
Her fingers walked across his jacket, "You don't have to go unless you really want to. I bet you'd like to stay with me longer."  
  
He couldn't speak properly, "I-uh-is it hot in here?"  
  
She took his jacket off, "Only gonna get hotter from here."  
  
"Ha, that's...that's why you took the jacket off, right?", he didn't know if he was messing up.  
  
"Lance, I'm only gonna say two things. 1.) You really suck at receiving hints. And 2.) I'm trying to get you into my bedroom."  
  
He coughed for a second, "To...to just get warm under the covers, right?"  
  
She hit her own forehead, "Y'know what, you're almost killing the mood, so just shut up and follow my lead."  
  
Lance still got nervous, "I've never-"  
  
Pidge put her hand over his mouth, "I don't care about that, just love me Lance. And for god's sake, please stop talking like that."  
  
He followed her into the bedroom, getting more than he initially wished for out of a first date, but it wasn't a bad thing. In fact, he was very happy from the way things turned out. There were a lot of first's for him that night, but he was glad to learn them, especially with someone as special as Pidge was. After it all ended, he spent the night with her. But not before speaking to her before they fell asleep.  
  
"So, how'd I do?", he asked her, arm around her waist.  
  
"Out of 10? I'd say a 6, maybe 7. You weren't bad for your first time, but there's still time to improve." She enjoyed being tucked in with him, these moments were what she'd been craving in a relationship.  
  
"Understandable. And if you say there's time to get better, does that mean you'd wanna date me as an official thing?"  
  
She turned around to give a quick kiss, "I want everyone to know how I started dating the ego-centered bartender from down the street."  
  
He ran his hand through her hair, "And I want everyone to know I'm dating the girl who's always got a smartass comment."  
  
She laughed, "Well, goodnight, cutie."  
  
He closed his eyes along with her, "'night, beautiful."  
  
She smiled at that compliment, and snuggled closer to him, letting herself cradle his body as she drifted into sleep.  
  
  
  
Elsewhere in the night, Zarkon and Keith were staying up to finish a particularly long movie. It was nearly midnight when the credits rolled on it. Keith had convinced Zarkon to try Lord of the Rings movies, meaning they were gonna be there for a little while longer. They decided to end their marathon on The Two Towers, with the last movie another day. Zarkon wondered why they didn't start with the Hobbit movies, since those are chronologically before LoTR, and Keith assured him they weren't worth his time. Beyond that, they were tired and ready to go to bed.  
  
"Ok, that's enough 3-hour long movies for one day", Keith said to his yawning boyfriend.  
  
Zarkon scratched his head, "Indeed. I'm curious to find out how it ends, if you wouldn't mind doing that tomorrow."  
  
He walked towards the bed with him, "Sure. Just not now."  
  
He got into the bed, getting the blanket well over the two of them. It was a normal night for them, finally, nothing to distract them. They could just relax, fall asleep, and let their cares fall away.  
  
*PING*  
  
His phone had gone off, not very loud for normal circumstances, but the middle of the night in an otherwise silent house amplified the sound. That, and the brightness of it in the dark house nearly blinded his eyes. Keith groaned a little to see what was so important that he needed to sit up to see it proper. It was only a message from Sendak, probably some stupid joke he wanted to send when he knew Keith was trying to sleep. Keith opened it with an annoyed look, and surprise took his face.  
  
"Holy shit", he said, a little excited.  
  
Zarkon looked at him reading his phone, "If it's not an urgent text, I'd like you to put it away and get rest."  
  
Keith's voice was loud with giddiness, "I think this qualifies as important."  
  
He turned the phone to let Zarkon look, the light from the phone making him blink a few times before he saw the message. Two small words, two simple words, one of them having a few exclamation points afterwards. It wasn't long, but the meaning of it was very important. Zarkon smiled as he stared at the message, then grabbed the phone away to put on a side table.  
  
"It's good news, but we really do need to get some sleep."  
  
Keith yawned, "You got me there. Goodnight, I love you, whatever else needs to be said."  
  
Zarkon rubbed his boyfriends hair, "Nothing more. Goodnight, kitten."  
  
Near the two of them, the light was dimming on the phone from inactivity, the message still on display.  
  
'We're engaged!!'  
  
Then the light went off, putting a final end to the day for everyone.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the chapter, I'm sorry it took so long to get out. I've been having trouble thinking of where to take it next and so forth. As always, leave criticisms or suggestions in the comments.


	8. The halloween party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a brief time-skip, we return to find the gang costumed for an earth holiday party. Despite the celebration, Pidge finds out about something else that may spell danger for her and Lance's future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wish I could think of ideas sooner, I really do. That, and a way to make it quickly progress the way I want it to. But alas, sometimes these things take time.

2 MONTHS LATER

 

 

 

The few months left in Keith and Sendak's vacation passed by quickly, leaving two weeks left on their vacation. Well, two weeks on Keith's vacation, Sendak had since resigned from his modeling job at his planet, in favor of one on Earth catering to humans. They tried to convince him to stay, offering a higher pay even, but he didn't want to travel constantly between his job and his future husband on Earth. Luckily, there were quite a few jobs available for him, whether he wanted to be photographed in high-fashion suits, or just regular clothes for larger supermarkets. In the end he went with the suits, Shiro said he looked nice in them.  
  
Keith couldn't get the same fate as his friend, Zarkon's job wouldn't allow it, neither would his own. He still had some time left with his old and new friends he'd made, so he wanted to spend it the best way possible. Since it was now nearing the very end of October, he could throw a halloween party. He let his lover in on this plan, getting his approval to have it at his condo. He just needed to invite everyone to it, prepare decorations, buy food...  
  
Did he even have much money left for this?  
  
"Keith, you're stressing again", Zarkon told him, observing him staring at his phone with an overworked look.  
  
"Yeah, I have good reason to. I'm out of money." He slumped into the couch of the condo, hugging a pillow like a dear friend of his.  
  
Zarkon sat next to him, "Why didn't you ask me to help?"  
  
Keith sighed and mumbled into the pillow, a jumble that sounded like 'Idinwansemlikaburd' was all one could hear from him.  
  
His boyfriend rubbed his leg, "You know I can't understand that. Just speak clearly to me, I won't get mad."  
  
Keith hid his face in embarrassment, "I don't wanna be a burden on your money."  
  
"And why do you feel like you're a burden?"  
  
Keith looked up at his partner, he wasn't mad, just confused. Oh if only he knew how Keith felt about him paying for things.  
  
"You replaced my phone after I broke it, $500 earth dollars from $675 GAC. You noticed I wasn't ordering much for myself at restaurants, sometimes even just water, because my money was dwindling. You started paying for my food, $200 at least in Earth dollars from $270 GAC. And now this party, everything relating to it, our costumes, the whole look, food, it looks like $600 earth dollars from-"  
  
"From $810 GAC. Don't worry about it too much, I don't mind helping out."  
  
Keith hugged the pillow tighter, "That's just the thing, you're not helping me with this, you're doing it for me. I can't put much forward, $13 is, what, good for a few bags of chips and a pack of soda? Nevermind on the soda, the beer costs will be more than that and I didn't even think of it until now. I don't have anything left, the hotel refused to give me more than 10% of what was paid towards that room, and I certainly can't cancel my ticket back home to save more."  
  
Zarkon moved his hands across Keith's ears, they adjusted for the free scratchings. He even purred after a minute, his boyfriend really knew how to pet in all the best spots.   
  
"There's the Keith I know. The one not caught up in his finances."  
  
Keith sat up properly, "If we're doing this, then it's not really a we, it's more of a you."  
  
Zarkon continued his massage, "I will worry about that. You just worry about who's coming." He hoped it would reinvigorate the interest in the party.  
  
Keith agreed and began calling up people to invite over to the condo, Sendak and Shiro taking priority over the others. Pidge and Lance were invited of course, the newest couple of them all would attend this costumed evening. Hunk and Shay were extended an invitation as well, they had both come into the groups little hang outs so naturally. They allowed them all to invite a few guests of their own, so it would be an actual party, but a limit per person was established. They didn't want it to be a wild party where people started showing up uninvited, especially those who didn't care if they broke anything. It was agreed upon to be a saturday, the day before halloween. It was also convenient for everyone when they were off on a weekend.  


 

 **Pidge's house**  
  
"Pidge, you ready to go?", Lance didn't know why she was taking longer than usual with her makeup.  
  
"Almost, just feeling a little sick", she said with fake cheeriness.  
  
Lance didn't speak for a few moments, "...well, if you say so."  
  
As soon as she was certain he was away from the door, she resumed her crying.  
  
"I can't do this, I shouldn't even have this..", she looked over at the plastic device on the sink.  
  
**'+'**  
  
She hadn't had her period for a long time, giving suspicions to her mind. Over the weekend, in secret, she bought a pregnancy test. And the result of it was on display, though she wasn't as eager to see that as other expecting mothers. They hadn't used condoms before, sure, but she did take pills to help prevent that. Why didn't the pills work this time? She grabbed the bottle to look at the expiration, finding more trouble for herself. It had expired well over a year ago, rendering it useless to stop a baby forming. She threw it into the trash can out of anger, though she didn't yell. Lance came to find out the noise, knocking at the bathroom door again.  
  
"Honey? Is everything ok?"  
  
She grabbed the pregnancy test and stood in front of the sink, "Y-yes, just a small slip up. I dropped a conditioner bottle in the trash can."  
  
Lance opened the door a crack, "Are you sure it's not-"  
  
"I'M NOT READY", she yelled as the pushed the door shut.  
  
She ignored Lance's voice, looking at the test in her hand. It needed to go away, be secret, he couldn't find out or that would be it for their budding relationship. She stuck her hand into the trash, digging tissues out to insert the device at the bottom, making more noise in the process. Lance tried opening the door again, but Pidge had locked it for good measure.  
  
"What's going on?", he asked, a little concerned.  
  
"CONDITIONER, I NEED TO CONDITION", she said, shouting over her boyfriend.  
  
After she had it placed under everything else, she put all the trash back into the bag. She washed her hands free of any dirtiness they had gathered in the process, she hated how she needed to do that. Once they were thoroughly scrubbed free of all the germs, she dried them off, and wiped her eyes free of tears. She looked at her costume, a simple green armor outfit imitating one of the paladins of voltron. The helmet for it was left on the sink, shining a little from the light-bulbs on the mirror.  
  
_'Yeah, like I could ever pilot that thing',_ she thought.  
  
She put on a confident face, though still nervous, and put on her helmet. She walked out of the bathroom to a waiting Lance, his face had some facial hair on his chin extending to either side of his jaw, he'd been growing it out ever since they became official. He was wearing an imitation blue paladin outfit, part of a theme everyone agreed to. He was holding his helmet in his lap, looking up to her in wait.  
  
"You ready to go?", she asked him.  
  
"Hell yeah, let's get this show on the road", he said, putting his helmet on, pumping his arms around.  
  
She went to the door, "After you bab- Lance."  
  
He walked out the door, "I'm not your baby anymore, huh? I'm curious, what's my new couple name?"  
  
She looked to the side, "It's just Lance, now get going you....uhh....annoying person."  
  
He gave a thumbs down, "Booooo, very weak by your standards."  
  
Her mind hid her true thoughts, _'If only you knew how weak I feel right now..'  
  
  
  
_  
  
They arrived at Zarkon's apartment, some music heard from outside the door. Taped onto the center was a guest list, letting someone know if they were welcome to join the celebration or not. There were little bats around the door, all fake of course, and a jack-o-lantern next to their feet. But that wasn't what was scaring Pidge, even if her face showed fear on it. Lance saw it and decided to tease her before they knocked on the door.  
  
"What, don't like bats?", he grabbed one and shook it as she stood there.  
  
"I don't like waiting to go inside when it's sixty degrees out here", she said with her arms crossed.  
  
He opened the door for her, "After you, my impatient love."  
  
She walked inside to find an array of orange displayed around the room. Little paper streams went from wall to wall, a few letters put up on display to say 'Happy Halloween' on one of them, and the guests of course. There was an array of different costumes, one girl dressed in a butterfly outfit, a guy as a vampire, simple outfits like that. Through the crowd of people, Pidge and Lance looked for their friends in their distinct costumes. Soon they found their eyes on Hunk, wearing the yellow paladin outfit. Shay was next to him, wearing a simple party dress rather than a costume. They soon noticed the arrival of their friends, waving them over.  
  
"Hey! You two made it, we were worried you wouldn't show up", he said to them.  
  
Lance elbowed Pidge, "Someone takes a lot of time for makeup that's getting covered up."  
  
She elbowed him in the side, a little severe, but it shut him up.  
  
"So, you two seen anyone else yet?", she asked them, trying to forget about the baby.  
  
Shay spoke up, "They're all here, Keith had to use the restroom, Zarkon said he needed some air outside, and Shiro is watching Sendak having what appears to be a drinking competition."  
  
They looked over to see Sendak looking at someone else as they downed their own cans of beer. Shiro was wearing the black paladin's armor, though his helmet wasn't on his head. His fiance's galran commander outfit would be intimidating, if not for him chugging down his drink in front of everyone. The stranger finished his and slammed it down onto the counter, screaming out 'seven!' to a cheer of some watchers. Sendak calmly put his can down, and yelled 'nine!' to a louder cheer. They both were about to grab more until Sendak looked over and saw the new guests watching them. They ended their little contest with Sendak as the winner, and he walked over with his human to greet the two.  
  
"What's going on, little *hic* snarky couple?", he sounded a little too happy.  
  
Pidge looked at his odd smile, "So you're drunk again, right?"  
  
Shiro smiled, "Yeah, he get's a pass tonight."  
  
His drunk fiance laughed, "I always *hic* get a passsss since we're getting..........", he couldn't find the word for it.  
  
"Married", Shiro said to help.  
  
His boyfriend grabbed him a bit roughly, "Yeah we are. Because I gotta tell you, I *hic* love you so much. Earth is like my home now, ffforget all those assholes back home."  
  
Shiro got free of his grip, "Well it is going to be your home, I suppose. We just need to figure out a place to live outside of that apartment."  
  
"And you think giving him a house to wreck is a good idea?", a new voice said.  
  
Keith had joined into their conversation, he was wearing a red paladin costume. Though his helmet was off due to his ears being pressed against the inside of them too hard.  
  
"Mullet! You're growing your hair out a lot", Lance said, circling around him to get a better look. He was right, Keith's hair was a little longer than it was a few months prior to the party.  
  
"And you're growing out some facial hair, 'fratboy'", Keith said, glad to have a nickname to call Lance after all the times he'd been named after his hair.  
  
Lance frowned slightly, "I don't look like a college douche."  
  
Keith brought up a hand to poke his pseudo-rival's nose, "And yet you call yourself one as a replacement for my nickname."  
  
They laughed as Lance grumbled, defeated by Keith in wordplay yet again. He decided to try and distance himself from them, leaving Pidge alone to her own interests. She found herself the focus of the group, who wanted to hear another one of her boyfriend stories. With her current one, they were plentiful. She had a couple lately to talk about, this could easily take her mind off of-

 _'Damn it',_ she had almost forgotten the test.  
  
"Well....one day I bought this new game.....and I told him to be careful with it but....then he wasn't and he made it dirty....so he cleaned it with steel wool....haaa", she said to them, trying to garner a few laughs for her shoddy storytelling. It wasn't usually like this of course, she just couldn't put the effort in when her mind was preoccupied.  
  
"What is *hic* steel wool and why is it funny?", Sendak asked in earnest confusion, getting a slight bump from Shiro to shut up.  
  
"Pidge, maybe you wanna try another story?", he asked her, hoping she would do better with some support.  
  
She shook her head and frowned, "No, I just- There's too much on my mind right now, I'll mess it up again. I should get a drink."  
  
Despite the groups efforts, she grabbed a bottle and leaned against a wall away from them. She kept pinching her stomach to the confusion of their worried glances, she didn't even show any fat. But she could feel it, the newly pressing outwards bump on her stomach, only slightly there, but a reminder never-the-less. She was about to take a sip of her beer until she remembered that she shouldn't drink when pregnant. To that she reminded herself that she didn't want to even get pregnant in the first place. Her personal dilemma continued until she caved and settled for some fruit punch.  
  
  
  
  
Getting to the back of the condo was easy, all Lance had to do was go through the sliding door to get to the upper deck/balcony of the condo. Standing there was Zarkon, looking out on the ocean. He was wearing a cape, part of an imitation of what the galran emperor would be wearing. A full suit of galran armor, even fake, was enough to make him tower over others with more prowess. Though the empire had long since moved past more violent means of alliances, they still valued strength in their society. It was odd to think, but Lance could see him pulling that off if he were actually a leader. The galran turned to see who had opened the door, and nodded at his friend's arrival.  
  
"So, the party not fun for you?", he didn't know why Lance had a sour look on him.  
  
Lance blew air up towards his nose, "Keith did it again."  
  
Zarkon laughed, "If you stop with your names, he might stop with his."  
  
Lance stood out next to him, leaning against the railing as well. The ocean sparkled in the night, it was a sight to see. Moonlight alone wasn't much note, but in just the right conditions it could make the best scenery. He might've been tempted to swim in it, if not for remembering some aquatic predators were nocturnal.  
  
"It's beautiful, your planet", Zarkon said, breaking their silence.  
  
Lance looked at the distant waves coming into shore, "I know. I'm used to all of this, so the _'wonders of nature'_  gets old."  
  
Zarkon raised an eyebrow, "As old as me?"  
  
Lance made some mock applause, "Ha ha, and you're not that old. Older than us, but you're, what, forty-four? I'm using human numbers, so it might not be right."  
  
"Forty-seven, roughly", he said.  
  
Lance looked at his body, "Incredibly fit for your age. I hope I can still look like my handsome self when I hit that year."

Zarkon laughed, "You and your self image. Personally I'm hoping age doesn't play into something else", he was looking at something in his hand, he had taken it out of his pocket.  
  
Lance didn't know what was curled up in his fingers, a little box? Asking about it wouldn't hurt anything.  
  
"What's the story on that?"  
  
Zarkon hid it out of view, "That depends on how well you can keep something secret for the next few minutes."  
  
Lance extended his hand for a shake, "I promise not to be an idiot about this."  
  
Zarkon didn't shake it, but he instead turned Lance's hand sideways. Then he put the small box onto it, Lance realizing what it was for. He could've cracked a joke right then, something about a proposal being too sudden for him, but he didn't (thankfully). He wanted to open it, see how it looked, but the owner took it away before he could.  
  
"I'll ask him later, I hope he's prepared to answer", he stuffed it into his pocket.  
  
Lance tapped his foot against the floor of the deck, "I hope I can ask Pidge that question someday. But she's been acting weird tonight."  
  
"You haven't been arguing, have you?", Zarkon was about to give advice on how to get along.  
  
Lance shook his head, "No, of course not. She was really on the edge preparing for the party, even on the way here. You don't think she hates her costume, do you?"  
  
Zarkon shrugged, "Could be. Or possibly it's something else. What happened, if you don't mind telling?"  
  
"Well, I was waiting outside the bathroom at her house. She was taking a really long time, well, maybe not really long, but forty minutes instead of twenty makes a guy suspicious. I thought I heard her crying at one point, maybe she thought her girly look wasn't girly enough, I guess. Every time I tried to come in, she got really angry and shut it. She actually locked me out, I don't know what was so embarrassing to her about putting on make-up. Especially since the helmet makes it hard to see it half the time."  
  
Zarkon took off his fake headpiece, "Gods, that thing is hot to wear. Sorry, I was listening. I think I have a solution to your problem."  
  
Lance put an eyebrow up, "What's the master plan?", probably some way to get her to spill details to someone else.  
  
Zarkon was using his cape to wipe away some sweat, "The way I see it, Pidge didn't speak up about her problems is because you dropped the subject. Maybe she wants you to figure it out on your own, or maybe it's something else, who knows. But if you confront her directly, show you do want to know why she's sad, she would be truthful."  
  
Ok, so that wasn't what Lance was expecting. And it wasn't he wanted to hear either, he'd already tried that earlier.  
  
"What if she just lies again?", he said, kicking his foot against the wall.

The two heard the door slide open behind them, and they turned to see Keith waiting for them to come back inside.  
  
"You know, the point of a party is to actually party. But if you two wanna stay out here, contemplating the universe or whatever this is, go ahead."  
  
Zarkon laughed, "Be right in, kitten."  
  
Keith smiled slightly, "Ok. Don't take too much longer", he closed the door on them before walking away.  
  
Zarkon turned around to go back to the party, but stopped mid-walk for one final word on the subject.  
  
"Take my suggestion as you will, but you and I both know she loves you."  
  
He wasn't wrong there. Great, now Lance felt bad because he'd planned some convoluted idea about having a fight with her. Looking on it now that would just make things worse on their relationship. He didn't want trust issues to develop between them regularly, even if they were happening now. Right then he just needed to go back to his girlfriend, and end this misunderstanding.

 

 

Through the crowd he looked, again spotting his friends in their same place. They pointed her out to him, he saw her pinching a small bit of belly fat. If she was worried about looking fat, there wasn't any need to be. For one she wasn't really showing it unless she really pressed her clothes against it. Secondly, he didn't mind if she got a few extra pounds, she didn't need to have body issues. A more worrying concern would be her becoming anorexic, he needed to bring her some positivity asap. When he found himself next to her, she didn't even notice at first, too preoccupied with that barely noticeable bump.  
  
"Hey", he said, scaring her a little.  
  
"Oh....hey. Nice party, right?", her attempt at a smile wasn't very good.  
  
He set a hand on her shoulder, "Should we talk when we get home?"

"I'm not having much fun here, too many limits..", she sounded sad, not what he wanted her to be.  
  
"Pidge, nothing is limiting you. You're twenty-five, have some fun, take a couple shots, whatever you usually do when you go to parties."  
  
She shook with fear, "I...can't. I shouldn't even care, but it wouldn't be right to just fuck it up like that."

"Fuck what up? Your body? I don't care, I know you've been poking at that little bit of belly fat. And really, that is the purest form of using that word, there is so little of it that you have to press into it", he pressed a hand up to it, it felt squishy but..hard?

"Wait...", he said, pushing harder.

"Stop that!", she grabbed his hand and held it away.

His mind started turning, "If you have a bump..then that means..", his girlfriend looked scared at his nearly finished thought.

  
*Tap, tap, tap*

 

"I'd like everyone to come to the main room, if you would."  
  
No one knew what Zarkon was up to, he had interrupted the party at an inopportune time. There were a lot of people dancing with others, some singing along to some of the songs, others just flirting with the girls. Not even his friends could guess what he was doing, save for Lance. He looked over to Keith, he was just as confused as the others it seemed. He put on some fake confusion, but he knew what was really going on. He wasn't the best at lying, even with his face, but it would only be for a minute longer most likely. As soon as everyone was gathered, Zarkon put the microphone back into it's stand and spoke to everyone directly.  
  
"Friends, and new associates, thank you for coming to this party!", that got a few cheers from them.  
  
"With that said, I'm tired, please go home", the crowd lost most of their smiles at his request.  
  
"I'm joking", he revealed, making the party-goers laugh. "No, it's not the end of the party, and I won't be interrupting it much longer. But I wanted to focus attention on someone very important to me. Keith Kogane, step forward if you would."  
  
Keith came forward, confused as to why he was so important all of the sudden. Zarkon stood behind him and put a hand on his shoulder before beginning the next part of his speech.  
  
"Two months ago, I was under a beach umbrella reading a book when this young man came up to me. He'd been about the sixth or seventh person that day to ask me on a date, of which I was tired of. But he was persistent, and intriguing to my interests. That date ended up being much better for me than I'd expected, and I'd say it's been a rewarding relationship ever since. Of course, he is very cute on his own, but past that, he understands me. While others only wanted to use me for my money, or otherwise, he paid attention to my interests rather than his own. Even now, he remains as sweet to me as a lamb. I haven't felt this way with someone else in a long time, which is why I must ask him something."  
  
He turned Keith to him, pulling out the little black box. Keith covered his mouth with his hand, realizing what was about to happen. His boyfriend opened the box, there was a beautiful purple diamond encrusted ring inside. He cried as he smiled, looking at his boyfriend beginning to kneel.  
  
"Keith, the only one I could ask this to, will you be my lifemate?", the party next to them made a collective 'awe' sound. There was one 'Yeah, marriage!' from what sounded like Sendak. His drunkenness usually cause ill-timed words, but this instance was more humorous than embarrassing.  
  
He nodded as he spoke, "Yes! Yes, I'll be yours, I wouldn't have it with anyone else."  
  
He hugged him as best he could, a little hard given Zarkon's size and costume, but that didn't matter. What mattered was they would be each other's for the rest of their lives, the best outcome Keith could've hoped for out of what was a simple bar date. His now fiance broke free of the hug to put the ring on his hand, making sure it was comfortable to him. After it was on all the way, he kissed his hand. Keith took the opportunity to fully kiss him, grabbing him by surprise. The rest of the crowd clapped and waited for them to disconnect from the other.  
  
Zarkon whispered into his mate's ear, "I love you, kitten."  
  
"I love you more, 'turtle'."  
  
He laughed before standing up, "Now let's get back to the party, shall we?", he turned the music back on, letting everyone go back to their former selves.  
  
Keith kept hugging Zarkon's side, wiping an occasional tear away from his eyes. Some guests at the party came to congratulate them on the engagement, while their friends had to wait behind them. When they finally were the last ones in the little line up, Sendak took his friend into a chokehold and noogied him. The others laughed as he struggled, not even his proposer would save him from this hell.  
  
"Noogie for the *hic* wedding brothaaa", he said, finally letting him go after half a minute.  
  
"If you're just gonna do that, then I'm seriously reconsidering your invitation", he joked.  
  
Sendak whined, "I just wanted to give you one for *hic* old times sake. Now you made me worried."  
  
Keith rolled his eyes, "You have the whiniest way of asking for a hug. C'mere friend."  
  
His friend gladly did just that, taking him into a tight squeeze. It wasn't meant to strangle him, but he was drunk and his decision making was increasingly bad. Keith had to seriously hit his friend's back to let him know he needed air.  
  
*Gasp* "God, not that much friendliness. Still friends though."  
  
Hunk stepped forward, crying from joy at their announcement. "I just...think it's really cute! You two are so good together and that was adorable!", he sniffed while he shook Keith's hand.  
  
Shay offered some kind words as well, "I agree with him, that was very sweet! I wish you the best of luck on your union."  
  
Shiro  was the last to congratulate them directly, "So, newly engaged couple. What, you're thinking in a year?"  
  
His older friend laughed, "On the contrary, I was thinking of the same day as yours."  
  
That got a 'What?' in unison from the group, with Sendak hiccuping as per the usual for his drinking. Keith was more concerned, he didn't want to miss his best friends wedding, even if it was for his own union.  
  
"Quick question, how am I supposed to be the best man at his wedding if I can't go to it?"  
  
His larger fiance rubbed his arm, "You won't be, because you'll be one of the grooms. In case any of you haven't picked up on it, I meant having a double wedding."  
  
Keith stumbled a bit, "A double what now?"

Zarkon began to explain, "The way I see it, if we have one celebration of two marriages, rather than splitting them and making it more costly, why not have them both at the same place, on the same day?"  
  
Shiro shook his head, "No, that couldn't work for me. My family wants to come, and I don't know how they could all afford a trip off planet."  
  
"Then I'll pay for them", he smiled at the human's stunned face.  
  
"I-..That's really generous, but there's around ten that were looking to go, including my parents."

"I'll pay for them, and for you four's trips as well", he looked over the the two other resident Earth couples.

Hunk yelled in delight, going over to hug Zarkon tightly. His wife had to come and pull him off, he could be a little too friendly sometimes. Lance took the news as a way to help cheer Pidge up, but she didn't seem very happy. She clutched her stomach again, he'd hoped she would stop thinking about the bump. It was just a small, slightly hard piece of-

Slightly hard piece of fat?

But bumps on women's bellies only felt hard if they were like abs. That certainly wasn't an ab he felt, the only other reason it would be hard would be- No. No, it couldn't be that, they had been so cautious, they had planned against it. Did he even want to be a father then? Did he need to be one?

"Oh god", he said, bringing a hand up to wipe his face.

She sighed, it seemed he'd realized what was happening. Zarkon was taking that as their reaction, he didn't know why they were stressing over a small bit of time away from Earth.

"You two will be attending, correct?"

Lance blinked slowly, "Yeah, I just..Pidge and I need to talk at home. We should get that photo, this talk shouldn't wait much longer."

"Well, if you're sure", he gathered the group in front of a camera. Lance and Pidge couldn't make themselves smile, so they put on their helmets and did a thumbs up pose. Shiro put his arm around Sendak's torso, while Sendak did a mock growling face at his boyfriend. Hunk gave Shay a kiss at the snapping moment, making her laugh. Keith leaned against his new husband-to-be, happy with his life. When the camera snapped, they stood around the camera while it loaded the photo up. When it finally got displayed, they were mostly glad, except for the young couple that didn't show their faces.

"Lance, where's your smile? You always got a shiny one", his best friend said.

"Not this time. Pidge, you wanna head out?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry guys, this is too much for us right now."

The rest of them reassured her that it was fine before they left. And like a chain reaction, the rest of the guests slowly poured out of the house over time with them. All in all, it took another two hours before the last guests left. Even Hunk and Shay left before the very end, saying they needed to get home for a babysitter. The only ones left to help clean up were Sendak and Shiro, though the former had to be heavily supervised due to his drunken behaviour. Keith hid the remaining beer so he wouldn't get even tipsier, afraid of vomit becoming another part of the cleaning process. It took more than half of the trashbags to clean up, but the result was a mostly cleaned up house. The rentals (such as speakers or the like) would have to go the next day.

"So, meet up tomorrow to help plan it?", Shiro asked.

"Yes. For now I just want to rest, that was more activity I've done in a night since university days", Zarkon said, standing near the door.

Shiro and his boyfriend said their goodbyes and left the two, though not before Sendak did another noogie to Keith. When the door closed he took a deep breath and leaned against the wall. Keith picked up on it and led the both of them to their bed, flicking off the lights along the way. He was ready to fall asleep just as much as his larger one, until he felt Zarkon caressing him a certain way.

"What are you doing?", he asked.

"I've been waiting all night to be alone with you", he said, nipping at his ears afterwards.

Keith turned to face him, "And just what are you gonna do, oh great emperor turtle?"

Zarkon undressed to Keith's rising libido, his body was still an instant turn on for him. Keith did the same for his love, showing the bare skin that the older galra loved to mark so much. He found himself under him again, just how he liked it. The two of them enjoyed a kiss for a moment, Zarkon tried to make it go further but Keith stopped him for a brief interruption.

"I love you, forever and always."

Zarkon moved some fingers across his face, "I love you too, for however long the gods let me."

The two kissed, starting a passionate end to their night.

 

 

Lance opened the door for Pidge when they got back to the house, both of them were equally troubled. She sat down on her couch while he sat next to her, putting an arm over her shoulder. The first thing she did was cry, she cried for however long the both of them thought appropriate. He was there to help wash away her sadness, even if it meant his shirt under the costume would get soaked with tears. A little later she finally stopped, speaking about how to deal with their problem.

"What do I do?", she asked.

"I don't know, I wasn't expecting this either", he was shaking with the thought of being a father so early.

"Should we keep it?", she didn't know if he wanted to or not.

"I don't know, Pidge. I wasn't expecting one, but if you wanted to try, then we could."

"No, I'm not exactly ready for it either, but I just didn't know if you thought that removing it...", she couldn't say it for fear of sounding accusatory.

"An abortion? I don't mind if you get one. Look, it sucks that it came when we didn't mean for it, and I understand if you don't feel like you're equipped to have it. Hell, it might be better to have a kid when we're out of this place. It's not my decision either, even if I don't mind having one, that doesn't mean you should be forced to when you don't think it's the time yet."

She poked at the stomach bump, "I don't know if I should. God, I was just at the party refusing to drink, even if I told myself I didn't want the baby."

"Whatever you feel on it is fine, I don't want to force you to love or hate it. Do you want to schedule an appointment?"

"I.....need time. To think on it, give me a few weeks", she grabbed the bump with unsure thoughts, not knowing if she would want one.

"All the time you need, I won't push you to make a decision when you didn't even think on it."

The two went to her bedroom, ready for a good night's rest. He held her while he slept, but she couldn't get to sleep. Her mind was arguing with itself over the little bit of life in her womb. It wasn't even a fetus yet, and she was thinking about if it would be a girl, like her. Or maybe it would be a boy, like her boyfriend. She wouldn't be able to find out unless she went through with it, but she wasn't sure if she should. They could afford it, probably, especially if the government gave them Social Security. But then she'd have to say goodbye to her youth, at least the few more years of it she had left before getting serious with a career. Whatever it was, it was better to give it a rest and get some sleep. She'd have a clearer mind the next day, better to help make a decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, leave criticisms or suggestions in the comments.


	9. Leaving Earth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for our friends to say their goodbyes, for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohhhhhh, I really couldn't think of how to tie it together, but I managed something. A bit of a mess, but I don't want to leave this story on haitus indefinitely.

The day had finally come, Keith and Zarkon would be leaving Earth. They had packed up and made sure to make the condo free of anything, such as food. The two looked around it, one last look at where they'd made their first memories together, of where they were engaged. The bathroom where Keith had fled to when he'd given Zarkon a new scar, the bed where they slept and loved together, the main rooms where the party had taken place a few weeks beforehand. The last thing to do was sit on the couch, where Keith had more often than not fallen asleep against his shoulder.

"I'm gonna miss this place", he said, leaning against Zarkon's arm, which could easily replace a small pillow.

"You'll like my house. I promise it's standard enough for you. Just don't expect a mansion, I'm not that rich, and my vanity doesn't exceed smart budgeting."

"That's it, wedding's off, mansions are a basic requirement. If I was a gold digger, that is", he laughed while Zarkon remained wondering what that meant.

He put his arm under him to help savor the moment, "I'm not sure what that is, but I'm glad you're not doing it."

"It means someone dating or even marrying another for their money. I'm not that shitty, so don't worry."

"I would never think you were", he said, rubbing his hand a little over Keith's chest.

Keith purred and let him continue his petting, one of the benefits of dating him was his exceptional touch. Experience was always nice, especially from one as seasoned as Zarkon was. He never asked much about how he gained experience from his other boyfriends, usually he would mention them in passing conversation. That was all he needed to hear of it, no one had to learn everyone's secrets as though they were their own. Even he kept his own past hidden to a certain extent, some parts too painful to reveal with close friends.

"Well, we should get to the others", Zarkon said, grabbing his bags to head to the taxi they'd called for.

Keith wrapped his fingers around the handle of his luggage, "Yeah. I like long goodbyes, and I don't wanna be late."

As the two filed outwards, Keith turned around for one last look at the place. The memories came flooding again, but one in particular vividly displayed itself. He swore he could see Zarkon tickling him, he could still hear his own laugh. He rubbed his eyes, and the hazy vision vanished. A small tear left his eye, he really would miss it here. Zarkon's hand brought him out of his fondness, nudging Keith to get a move on. When the door shut on them, he heard a whistle through the gutters. He liked to think of it as a goodbye from the rented condo.

"After you", Zarkon said, opening the door for him.

"What a gentleman you are", Keith said, enjoying the tease.

 

 

Shiro was sitting out on his patio, crying to himself. His boyfriend was showering before they would leave, having been to the gym and all. God, there were so many problems with their arrangement. They'd known each other for less than a week, and already they decided they were right for each other. Was it too soon? Was it right to make him abandon his old job? It wasn't all very clear, and he hated that.

"Babe, what's wrong?"

He stopped himself and wiped away the tears, "Nothing, nothing, it's just...all this going on."

Sendak still had a towel wrapped around him, "What do you mean?"

"Just...our wedding. We're getting married so soon, we barely knew each other. And...I don't want to lose you...", he hugged him tightly, the tears going into his fur.

"Shhhhh, you won't lose me. I love you too much to let you get away", he undid the towel slightly and wrapped Shiro in with him.

Shiro hugged him tighter, "I just proposed like that, I was afraid you would leave, and I made you leave your modeling, and-"

"Hey, hey. You're worth it, trust me", he gave his hair a little kiss and lick.

Shiro put his face deep in his fur, "I love you. I really love you, and I don't want to see you leave."

"I know, I know, I wouldn't want to leave either."

Shiro sniffed and let his fiance rub him, he was always good as the galra to cry on. His fur was absorbent after all, a lot of times Sendak would just wipe up a spill with it. Though giving him a second shower wasn't necessary, so he wiped his face again to move on. He helped him pick out what to wear, a hoodie for him was nice. Some tight jeans help as well, really bringing out his muscles. His shoulders along with his galran arm made them look tight on him, so that was appealing visually.

"Well, time to tell the runt to get his ass off this planet and never come back."

Shiro poked his side, "Always rude to him."

"That's what best friends are for."

Shiro grabbed his hand, "I'll miss him."

 

 

 

Pidge and Lance were walking around their shared house, trying to find the keys to their car to drive to the ship-port. Somehow it'd been misplaced, they knew it was in the house somewhere, so it wasn't totally lost. Usually it was on the table, or near the couch maybe, but now it was just gone. He checked vigorously through their bedroom, but it wasn't anywhere on the bed or near it.

"I don't need this right now, we don't need to waste money on a cab!", she said, looking through the kitchen drawers for the keys.

"Just calm down a little, I know you're still worrying about a lot of things", he told her, offering a hand to hold. She took it and stood still, then pulled him into a hug.

*Sniff* "God, just....I still haven't thought about the baby, and everytime I do I just ignore it again, and I know I can't just do that..", he was shushing her softly, just letting her cry. Until they heard a jingle from her pocket, making them both look down and reach for her pants.

"I heard it first!", he said.

"I'm wearing it!", she was shoving him away while she reached inside. Lo and behold, the key's were with her the whole time, both were glad and now rushing out to get to the ship-port. Whatever she thought about a second ago, that was for later, now they just would send Keith away. And she would hate an opportunity to tell him one last sassy thing before he was gone for an extended period.

 

 

"Hunk?", Shay said, she was looking between him and the clock. He insisted on making some cookies for the couple leaving earth, as a tasty souvenir and a sweet memory of their visit. But he was determined to get them just the right color of brown, his cooking impeding the time they had to leave.

"Just be patient, it should only take another minute", he said. After it dinged he took them out and blew a fan over them, hoping they would cool down faster. They did, though it took another five minutes from the time they had left.

"Daddy, can I have a cookie?", his son said, a mix of human and balmeran.

"Sorry Roscoe, no can....all right fine, since you're making a face and all", he couldn't turn down his own kids, they were as sweet as the dessert he'd been making. Soon his daughter wanted one, also a hybrid child, and he gave the roundest one to her, along with a friendly smile.

"No more Alexa, too much sugar is bad for you", he told the child that was, uncaringly, smearing hot chocolate chips around her mouth as she ate.

He grabbed the cookies into a little bag, "Shay, can you wipe her off?"

"Yes. Come children, we need to get in the van", she said to them.

 

 

"Twenty minutes before lift-off", Zarkon said, wondering if anyone was going to see them away like they had said over the phone.

"And five minutes before we're meant to be seated to make sure everyone will be on", Keith expected them to arrive sooner, rather than later. But each one of them had something just before, so if they did show up, they had little time to have farewell's. He began worrying that even Sendak wouldn't show, it was a stupid thing to be paranoid over, but it still remained as an option in his mind. It wasn't until he noticed a galra accidentally bumping into several people while running towards the ship-gate that he could rest easy.

"KEIIITH", Sendak yelled, tackling his friend down into a hug while other people nearby watched, some in confusion, others in horror at what they perceived to be an attack.

"Don't worry, he does this regularly", Shiro told a woman covering her son's eye, though the news only made her sit somewhere else with him.

"Can you...stop embarrassing me in public?", Keith was trying to pull, push, or even shove him off.

"I won't be seeing you for a good bit of time..", he said, not giving him a noogie like usual, just hugging. He really did care for him, something Keith already knew, but he still liked a reminder now and then.

"Don't just keep him on the floor, I need to say goodbye too", Shiro said, he hugged Keith tightly, a friendly back squeeze.

"Thank you for bringing him into my life", he couldn't stress that enough, but things here needed to be quick, no time for excessive speeches.

Their small party became bigger with the arrival of Lance jogging up to the group, holding up a finger while he took a breather, then he spoke, still out of breath.

"Don't...leave...yet", he said, Pidge walking up next to him.

"He got really worried in the car, sorry about him", she said, a little bump on her stomach, slightly there but more visible now on her figure.

"Sooo, thought you could sneak away before we fight again, huh?", he looked directly at Keith with an excessive grin.

"Couldn't even give it a rest when I'm leaving, huh fratboy?"

"You know I could never resist it mul-..Keith", he said, holding out a hand for him to shake. But he didn't expect it to turn into more than a shake, he was pulled into another hug in a long string of them.

"I'll miss our tiny fights too, Lance", he said, finally calling him by his name after so long between their nicknames.

"Oh, so you aren't gonna miss me then", Pidge said, ready to hug him just as much as her boyfriend.

"With that attitude, probably not", he said, giving her a hug, feeling a new bump from her, one he hadn't expected to see on her, but he didn't ask about it.

"Keith! Buddy! Brought you two some cookies!", a new voice said. Hunk and Shay, their kids holding onto their parents hands. A little plastic baggie filled nearly full with Hunk's delicacies in view, homemade chocolate put into homemade cookie dough for fresh-baked goodness.

"I haven't had these for a bit of time", Zarkon said, opening the bag to grab a big one. Good, as always, Hunk's kitchen skills couldn't be trumped by anyone there. That wasn't the only part of him, several times he went into intelligent discussions with the group. One instance was Hunk deciding to ask how certain galran technology worked, making the two go into a long, somewhat group excluding talk about the similarities and differences between Earthen and Daibazaalan machines. The taste was taking up too much of his mind at the moment, he couldn't recall the discussions anymore, only the taste of that sugary treat.

"Don't hog it all", Keith said, grabbing a few to treat himself and the others. Everyone else seemed to enjoy them, but Hunk wanted them to save as many as they could.

"Don't you want more for the road?", he was close to disappointment.

 Keith handed him an especially chip laced one, "Here. To being good friends, even if you hardly knew me."

Hunk smiled and took it, his kids asking if they can have another cookie too. Zarkon put on his best smile, holding out two cookies for them. They both looked at him in surprise, they'd never seen a hand that big. Rather than grabbing at the treat, they were grabbing his hand. It even tickled him a little, he chuckled as they pawed at it, until Hunk reeled them away despite their complaints. Once he stood up, another surprise awaited him. It seemed the group hadn't forgetten he was there, all coming to give him a group hug, Sendak the only one at height level. His arms were tangled in between them, but he managed to get them loose and hug them the best he could.

 

'Final call: Daibazaal voyage now boarding'

 

"That's us", Keith said, grabbing his bag and rushing his fiance along. They waved at the group, getting on board, the flight attendant slightly annoyed at them for not getting on sooner. From the view area, the ship took off spectacularly. To think, this was a sight to see over a hundred years ago. And now, it was as common as a plane taking off, though still interesting to see. Once it was out of sight, they all said their goodbyes, going their own separate ways. In a few months they would all be doing the same thing, but that wasn't happening yet, so nothing to worry about.

There was still one thing for one couple to worry over though. Pidge still hadn't given an answer to Lance, and now it was showing a little more on her belly. No marks yet, if she decided not to have it now, she could still prevent those from forming. But, beauty wasn't everything, right? Besides, he would still love her the same, past any marks, past any baby they had. If they had it. Maybe it was a girl. Maybe it could be named Katie, like it's mother. That's right, Pidge was only her nickname, until it caught on to just be her name.

"Lance", she said, grabbing his hand once they got home.

"Yeah honey?", he said.

"You're gonna be a father", she hoped he would take it well. He didn't frown, instead he held her hand tighter and smiled.

"Can't wait."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, you can leave any thoughts in the comments. Sorry if this seemed like it moved too fast, I want to be able to update this story too.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed. If you have any criticisms or suggestions, please leave them in the comments.


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